Searching Between Friends and the Past
by DragonRiderNinja
Summary: What if Jarod wasn't the only Pretender to escape the Centere and for Sydney to look after... Please Read and Review tell me what you think
1. Alex

_Top Gun Navy Flight Instruction California_

I watched them walk through the hanger as I leaned against the wall in my flight gear a small smile on my face. My newly grown hair flowed in the wind as they came closer and I could start to hear what they were saying.

"What do you mean he's sick?" one demanded.

"He said something about bad sushi last night," The other said.

I chuckled, slipped the small glass vile in my hand into my pocket, and stepped forward. "What is Death Stroke out Jackhammer?" I asked and they looked at me.

Then the two of them looked at me then stepped forward. "Today as you know is the student's final test we can't graduate them unless they pass, and Death Stroke ate bad Sushi last night can't unglue himself away from the toilet. We need a second man in the air," he said.

I shrugged and hoisted my helmet under my arm. "Well I'm available," I said.

He looked at me for a moment then patted me on the chest with his glove. "You're in the air in five minutes," he said then walked out onto the line of jets.

I smiled at walked out onto the field and climbed into the F-14 I was assigned to my copilot already in his seat. I slipped into my seat, put my helmet on, and connected to hose. I covered my face with the mask and turned on the pilot con leaving off the tower.

"You ready for this Bobcat?" I asked.

"Yeah Maverick for Sentinel," my copilot said and I flipped the switches and the Tomcat started to come to life.

_I guess this is what you get for wearing Top Gun out so much that it won't play beyond five minutes_ I thought as I pulled the Tom Cat out onto the runway.

"Tower, Tower this is Flying Tiger requesting permission to take off?" I said.

"Roger Flying Tiger you are clear for take-off good luck sir," Tower said.

"Thank you Tower," I said and fired the afterburners and the F-14 launched forward and into the air and I retracted the landing gear.

_I am going to miss this_ I thought doing a few 360s as I climbed higher.

Soon I met up with the other instructor pilots. "Nice to see you up here Flying Tiger you ready to show these rookies how it's done?" Jackhammer asked.

"Yes sir let's just hope we don't have another incident like what happened to Maggie Sentinel McQuent," I said and there was silence for a moment.

"With the new safety rules there's no way for a tragedy like that to happen again now let's get some!" Jackhammer said and banked hard to the right.

I smiled and banked after him and the dogfight between the students and us began. I was just getting a missile lock on my student when I saw Jackhammer's plane begin erratic movements.

I smiled and looked at my watch _right in schedule_ I thought.

"Flying Tiger to Jackhammer are you alright sir?" I asked.

"Just feeling a little light headed let's get back in the fight," he said and banked hard behind his student.

A moment later, his plane began to move even more wobbly. "What's… happening…?" I heard him mutter.

After getting the missile lock, I detached my mask and looked at him. "Feeling a little light headed, disoriented, and right about now your lungs are starting to burn," I said.

"What's happening…?" I heard him say.

"Well by the sounds of it looks like your air tank has been switched with CO2 sir like what happened to Sentinel," I said.

"What…? I don't know what you were talking about,"

"Oh come on now Jackhammer what was it you said 'Top Gun isn't a ladies place'," I said.

"What…?"

"You knew she was going to file Sexual Harassment and Rape charges against you at the end of her instruction and ruin your preaches carrier and reputation. So you switched her O2 tank with CO2," I said.

"She was out of… it… drunk as… a skunk," he said.

"You not only rapped and stalked her you killed her to keep her quite but it wasn't just her you killed but the child you put in her," I said my teeth gritted.

"I don't…," He started as my modifications kicked in and he started to lose altitude.

"Now unless you tell me the truth you are going to suffer the same fate.

With a baby on the way, you knew it was only a matter of time before the truth could be proved of what happened to her. So you had to cover your tracks and eliminate the evidence with a little jet fuel on the side. So you killed her to keep her quiet and your unborn baby along with her.

Didn't You? Didn't You? DIDN'T YOU?" I yelled into my mike.

"Yes… yes I admit it…," he said.

I smiled leaning back into my seat. "Well now you can almost relax the only thing your inhaling is laughing gas so act like bozo and laugh it up it should have run out by now," I said.

A half a second later. "I CAN PULL UPI CAN'T PULL UP," he yelled.

I slapped my forehead. "Oh yeah I almost forgot I did the same thing to your plane to what you did to hers," I said and pulled out my TV remote and pressed PLAY.

A second later, he pulled up in a sharp angle. "I'll have you Court Marshaled for that Lieutenant Commander," he growled at me.

I laughed a little. "I think you're the only one who's going to face a Court Marshal Commander besides it won't really affect me. Because you see I'm not really a Top Gun instructor think of me as Military Intelligence," I said back.

"Nobody is going to believe you this line was closed off to the students and all you've got in that screwed up copilot," he said.

"It's not just going to be our word did you get everything Tower?" I said into my mike.

"Every word," the Tower said.

I laughed a little bit more. "oh by the way there's only enough fuel left in your jet for the only strip you can make is Top Gun so I'll see you back on the ground," I said then switched him off.

"That concludes the test for today class and I'm glad to report you all pass for extra credit two page Dog Fight analysis on the US Volunteer Group The Flying Tigers class dismissed," I said then switched off my comm and jammed the afterburners.

"WHOA! OH! OH!" I yelled as the wings folded up and the Tom Cat shot forward.

The next day I was in my assigned quarters my bags packed and my new assignment papers filed. My DSA viewer was open with one of the tiny disks that contained a section of my life between two fingers. In my other hand was a black spiral notebook with today's paper's headline on the first page.

**NAVY PILOT CLEARED OF ERROR **

**TOP GUN INSTRUCTOR APREHENDED FOR HER RAPE AND MURDER**

After a moment, I slid the DSA into the slot and set it to the right time frame and the video came up.

On the bottom right hand corner was the words.

**ALEX**

**7/4/85**

**FOR CENTERE USE ONLY**

"What do you feel Alex?" his Watcher as he had called him said.

I watched as a ten-year-old version of myself went through a simulation of a Military Hostage Rescue with him dangling from a cord.

"Excited, fear, a thrill it's all mixed I can almost see them just a few more feet and I'll have them out," I had said.

"There may be a chance that you may not be able to save them,"

"Giving up is something I will never do," he had said as he descended lower toward the people.

Suddenly there was a loud noise and flashes of light below him, he yelled, the simulation ended, and he was lowered to the floor. He watched as they unfastened him from the harness around his waist. His Watcher came halfway down the stairs looking at him.

"There was nothing you could have done Alex," he said.

I had looked at him. "I won't give up Sydney not ever," I had said and Sydney sighed.

I stopped the DSA and closed the lid. "I meant that Sydney I not just as the pretend," I said.

_Half an hour later…_

The door to the room was kicked in and men with their guns drawn burst in and went from room to room. The last to enter was stalky man with short black hair came in his hands in his suit pockets. His eyes darted to the table where the notebook lay.

He walked over and picked it up one hand in a brown leather glove with a thumb missing looking at the post-it **MR LYLE **and he flipped to the first page. He looked at the newspaper article as one of his men came close to him.

"He's gone sir," he said.

Lyle looked at him. "Obviously where is my sister?" he demanded.

"Maine sir tracking a lead on Jarod," he said.

Lyle nodded. "Good if both of Sydney's Pretenders ever find each other who knows what will happen," he said and left the room.

**_THERE ARE PRETENDERS AMUNG US._**

**_GENIUIS WITH THE ABILITY TO BECOME ANYONE THEY WANT TO BE. _**

**_IN 1980 A CORPERATION KNOWN AS THE CENTEREE ISOLATED A YOUNG PRETENDER NAMED ALEX AND EXPOILTED HIS GENIUS FOR THEIR RESEARCH._**

**_THEN ONE DAY THEIR PRETENDER RAN AWAY…_**

**HI NOW I'VE HAD REQUEST TO CHANGE THE NAME OF MY CHARACTER AND I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT THIS IS A DIFFERNT GUY THEN THE ONE ON PRETENDER 2001 NOW PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU OTHER READERS WOULD LIKE THIS AS WELL**


	2. Following The Clues

I was laying in my cell the blood still flowing from my busted lip and my right eye was completely sealed up. I felt around my waist and winced a little around my ribs and my head fell back into my pillow. Very slowly, I sat up in my bed, pulled the pillow sheet, with a little persuasion tore it at the seams, wrapped it around my chest, and tied it tight.

As I was finishing I heard several electric sparks concealed next to my desk and a hand on my ribs I walked over and sat down. Making sure there wasn't someone at my door I took the wire out as the message came again.

_"Alex are you ok? Are you hurt badly?" _

Taking the wire, I tapped in Morse Code. "_Yes I'm fine just a few bruised ribs a sealed eye and a busted lip but I'll live."_

After a moment. That's_ go. . . _," started then stopped suddenly.

I frowned and started to inquire when. "_ALEX QUICK HIDE THE WIRE THEY'RE COMING!" _came the quick words.

As fast as I could I hid the wire and was just getting onto my bed when the door was thrown open. Before I could utter a sound three men in suits jumped on me and covered my mouth with tape. I struggled b best I could as they pinned me down and as I struggled against them until a man with oiled sweptback hair came in.

I struggled harder as he smiled at me. "You have been a very bad boy," he mutters as he drew from his pocket a glass medical bottle and a syringe.

My screams were muffle by both hand and tape as he filled the syringe with a clear liquid and squired out a little. I struggled harder than ever as he approached me and they held my arm out. The needle came closer and closer.

I sat up in quicker than lightning in my bed as I woke from the nightmare my body covered in sweet and the sheets a tangled mess from my tossing and turning. After sliding my legs from under the covers, I pulled my DSA Player out from under my bed, plopped it on my lap, and opened it. After picking out the right DSA, I slid it in and started it.

**ALEX **

**1/01/86**

**FOR CENTERE USE ONLY **

The screen showed my past self was standing alone in a deserted room moving a little fidgety, as he looked left and right. Then suddenly a door opened and he spun around. In stepped the man from my nightmare and a cigarette flared as he brought it to his mouth.

When the man brought it, away he blew the smoke in my face and I coughed. "Hello Alex my name is Dr. Reins I'll be taken care of you from now on," he said.

I looked at him. "Why where is my regular Watcher?" I asked.

Reins frowned. "What?" he asked.

My eyes shifted left and right. "Where's Sydney?" he asked.

Reins blew more smoke into his face. "He died in a car accident yesterday," he said.

I took a step back. "He's dead?" he muttered and Reins nodded.

Suddenly there came a knock at my door and I looked up as I quickly closed the lid. I slid it back under my bed and took off my shirt well-toned muscles gleaming in the rising sun and he stood up.

"Come in," I called.

The door opened and a woman with long black hair and blue eyes came in. She froze at the sight of him her eyes traveling up and down.

My eyes arched his eyebrows leaning forward. "Is there something you wanted me for?" I asked, smiling.

"Alex… eh… the morning… whew… round up," she said, running her fingers through her hair face redder than the rising sun.

I smiled at her. "Thanks Joanna I'll be out in a few minutes," I said, and she nodded and after taking one last look quickly left.

He chuckled _distractions works every time to avoid questions that just popped up_ I thought as I slipped his shirt back on and went to his dresser.

Less than five minutes later I walked out of my room and into the clear mountain air his heeled boots clicking on the wooden floor. I slipped on his black western hat and sunglasses and started down past the giant log lodge. In front of the lodge was a small series of stone steps that was surrounded by a small cluster of green grass.

Hanging from the porch that stretched around the corner of the building that elevated on stilts that went with the slope of the mountain roof was a series of bird feeders that hummingbirds were buzzing around. On the same side as the lodge surrounded by a stonewall was a basketball and tennis court. On the other side was a swimming pool and hot tub with a slid swerving into the pool.

I smiled as the lodge and the surrounding cabins blended in with the mountain forest. I looked down at the valley the morning mist still covering the ground and I started walking down the dirt road. When I reached a standing flat metal statue of a cowgirl stood next to the road I turned off the road and down a small path.

I dropped down onto a small boulder before dropping onto the dirt path and passed a tree on his right. After dropping down onto a couple more boulders I landed onto the dirt road and I looked a couple low-slung buildings and fenced corals that marked the stables. I tipped my hat as a couple wranglers nodded and waved at me and Joanna smiled.

As I was saddling up my horse one of the Wranglers with black hair and beard came up to him. "So you're the new Wrangler?" he asked.

I nodded and extended his hand. "Alex Wayne," I said, and the Wrangler shook it.

"Damon Scott, did you say that your last name is Wayne?" he said, arching his eyebrows.

I smiled and tightened the girth of his saddle. "No relation," I muttered.

Damon smiled. "Well I hear you're a pretty good rider but I'll see for myself once we get out there and get the horses but we better get ready before old man McCoy gets here," he said, and walked away to a man about the same height with a clean shaven face.

When me and the other wranglers were mounted up, they gathered around the fence as one of the owners came up. He was a tall elderly man wearing a white Stetson hat. His upper lip and silver mustache curved up into a smile as he looked at them then mounted his horse.

"Well morning all now before we set off this morning I'd like to take this moment to welcome the new wrangler Alex Wayne," he said.

I dipped his hat as everyone said; their 'hellos' and I shook a few hands.

When there was quite again McCoy looked at the men his horse fidgeting. "Now let's all get out there we got some horses to round up," he said, the whipped his horse around and spurred him into trot the rest of the group quickly followed suit.

Once they were out in the open ground, they spurred their horses into a gallop and they spread out into groups. I was yelping some with Damon and his friend near the river that was close to the mountain a group six horses. I was handling a few mares with Damon when a horse's scream sounded and mine and Damon's heads whipped around.

Damon's friend fell from his horse after it was spooked and reared by the rearing of one of the horses. Damon and me whipped our horses around and I detached my lasso from my saddle. I tore after the horse that had spooked Damon friends and I started twirling it over my head.

I rode next to the horse and once in position let the lasso fly toward its target. It sailed through the air still twirling slightly before looping around the horse's neck. Looping the rope around the saddle horn and pulled my horse to a stop, the horse on the other end stopped and whipped around, and I slid off my horse grabbing a hold of the rope.

The horse reared up a couple times as I spoke to it with a soothing voice and I slowly approached. The horse gave one last rear before calming down enough for me to put a hand on its neck patting it softly. I let out a puff of air as I let the horse smell my neck before climbing back onto my horse and riding back to Damon and his friend.

Damon looked from his friend after helping him back onto his horse and waved and I nodded. I rode close to the two and after taking the rope in hand and securing it to a boulder and I dismounted.

"He ok?" I asked.

"Yeah he'll be fine nothing a good bath and a new pride won't cure," Damon said.

Damon stood a hand on his hip as I looked over his friend. "Man you can ride! Where'd you learn?" he asked.

"Fort Worth," I answered.

"The Stalk Yards?" Damon asked.

"The Carousel," I answered and Damon roared with laughter.

Half an hour later, everyone was assembled back at the corral and the horses rounded up with me still leading the horse with the rope. Once inside I brought the horse close, removed the lasso before riding out of the pen, and joined the others. As I dismounted, McCoy came close.

"Did old Zorro give you any trouble out there?" he asked.

I looked at him and shook his head. "Nothing we couldn't handle sir," I said.

McCoy nodded and patted my shoulder. "Come we'd better get back up for breakfast the guests should be up by now," he said, and some of the wranglers nodded and we started up the path.

When they reached the main lodge I froze at the sight of a woman with long blond hair and a black western hat her back to him. She was in a wheel chair that she was wheeling up a ramp to the porch. As I looked at her other wranglers passed by me some in conversation.

I opened my denim jacket, pulled out my latest black notebook, and opened it to the first page. I unfolded the cut out newspaper, it showed a picture of the woman standing with McCoy and his wife who had shot grey hair, and like the woman, she was a head shorter than her husband. On the woman's left side was a man a head taller than her and like McCoy, he wore a white Stetson hat. In front of the group was three children lined up by age which was made up of two girls with the youngest child being a boy with the river I had been at earlier in the background with them all wearing western clothing.

Above the picture was a bold headline.

**CAR ACCIDENT LEAVES SON IN A COMA**

**FAULTED MOTHER MAY NEVER WALK AGAIN**

I looked up from the article at the woman again and sighed as I watched her reach the top of the porch and look at the two girls from the photo come out of the lodge. They smiled at her and started for her. But she backed her chair up, they stopped and their smiles vanishing then after a moment the girls went back inside and a moment after they disappeared the woman wheeled herself in.

I sighed as I closed his notebook and tucked it away as I climbed the steps to the porch and walked inside. The lodge was comprised mainly of one giant open space with a huge old stone fireplace in The Centere. In front of the fireplace were two sofas, a lounge chair, a coffee table, and few smaller tables with laps.

There was a line of chairs running along the wall to his left along with some being dotted here and there. Along the wall were various antique western items along with a saddle under the arch that separated the lounge from the dining room.

He walked by the lounge, a study, and the store to his right before reaching the dining hall. I smiled and nodded to a few guests as I slipped his hat off and walked over to join the McCoy's table. I slipped his hat on the horseshoe hat holder and took his seat and old man McCoy looked at him.

"Well Alex quite a first day so far and I don't think you met the rest of the family. This is my wife Marry, my son Adam, and my granddaughters Megan and Susan," he said, and I nodded as they waited for the food to be brought out.

I nodded as the door to the kitchen swung open and some of the other people came out. I took the opportunity to look over at the woman in the wheelchair who was sitting at a table to herself.

"That's my wife Kara," he heard Adam say sadly behind him.

I turned to look at him, the McCoy's look uncomfortable, and some averted their eyes.

"Why isn't she sitting over here?" I asked.

Adam lowered his gaze. "She…," he started then stood up to get some food.

McCoy watched his son go then turned to his granddaughters. "Hey why don't you get some eggs and pancakes ok," he said, and they nodded and quickly left.

I looked at them and leaned forward on the table. "Was it something I said?" I asked.

McCoy shook his head. "No it's just been hard on all of us," he said, and took a deep breath.

"You see a couple weeks ago she and my grandson James were in a car accident. The tire blew, the car rolled, and the gas tank exploded soon after. When help came, she was found not far from the car and James closer to it.

She blames herself for what happened and has refused any and all treatment for her to walk again. She hasn't gone to see James in the hospital and she won't talk to any of us," he said.

I nodded and looked back at her before getting up to get his breakfast from the buffet. When breakfast was over, I went back down to the stables to get his horse and rode it back up to the lodge where the guests were gathered.

He smiled at them, dismounted, and faced them. "Hello everyone my name Alex Wayne no relation to the Duke and I'll be your wrangler this week," I said, and a few people laughed.

At the end of the day, I was in the main lodge pouring himself some coffee when McCoy came up. "Alex the fridge in the kitchen isn't working right it needs a new part do mind going into town to get it?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah sure I'll go," I said, and McCoy smiled and nodded then turned to leave.

When he was out of the room, I reached inside his pocket and pulled out the missing piece.

He lightly tossed it up and caught it. "Sorry McCoy," muttered then finished his coffee.

**The Centere **

Miss Parker walked into her office after just returning from Jarod's last lair her heels clicking on the floor and she placed a few files on it. She walked behind her desk and fell into her chair sighing deeply as she ran her fingers through her hair. Just as she was starting to relax, her intercom buzzed.

She groaned lightly, reached over to her phone, and pressed the speaker. "What," she snapped.

"Miss Parker your presence is required up in The Tower"

"Now?" she asked, agitated.

"Now," answered the voice and the line was cut.

She hung up the phone and stood back up smoothing out her suit then walked out of her office. The lobby was buzz of activity and she stopped when she noticed Lyle stepping out of the elevator.

Frowning she thought _where has he been off to for the past year first it was that old sweeper Daniels now him_ before she pressed the button for The Tower Elevator.

She suddenly got a headache, she pressed her hand to her temple, and when it wouldn't subside, she realized what it was. When the doors opened, she stepped inside and waited for the doors to close before closing her eyes in concentration. She listened to the voices as the elevator went smoothly up.

She opened her eyes. "'the past returning' what does that mean?" she muttered then the doors slid open.

She walked down the hall to a pair of double doors, which she opened to her father's office. She heard the water running in the private bathrooms so she walked over to the desk and ran her hands over it then stopped looking at the bunny paperweight. She smiled lightly remembering when she gave it to her father.

"Aw Angel, I remember when you gave me that"

Her eyes went wide and she whipped around. "_Daddy_?" she said, shocked.

His mustache twitched as he smiled at her. His white hair wrapped around his slightly baldhead that shined slightly in the sunlight.

"Aw good times, good times," he said, taking the paperweight from her and looking at it as he walked around the desk.

She watched him walk around his desk and sit down mouth wide open and he smiled at her. "Why Angel you look like you seen a ghost," he said.

She let out a puff of air. "Well considering the last time I saw you was you jumping out of a plane with the scrolls I'm surprised that you're surprised," she said.

He laughed a little. "A little ruse to throw the Triumvirate off our tails," he said.

She half-heartedly cocked a smile. "_A 'ruse'_?" she demanded.

He nodded heartily and she gapped. "And what about…," she started but they words stopped in her throat.

His smile faltered. "Yes about that," he said, and he stood up again and walked around to sit on the edge of his desk.

He fidgeted around uncomfortably and she arched her eyebrows. "Well," she snapped.

He smiled. "Well I knew ever since that _Alex_ spilled that lie I knowing you had a few files falsified," he said, and smiled.

She took a step back. "'Falsified_ documents'?" _she gapped out.

He nodded. "Yes well you couldn't have been seen at your peak or else they might have killed us," he said.

She chuckled turning her back to him. "And the scrolls?" she asked.

She heard him chuckle behind her. "Aw those might as well use them for toilet paper," he said, and she whipped around.

"They weren't real?"

He shook his head. "No the real scrolls are still locked away in a secure location but enough with past events. I have decided that more drastic measures must be taken to recapture Jarod," he said.

She frowned. "What kind of actions?" she asked.

He smiled and leaned over and pressed a button on his phone. "Send him in," he said.

Her eyes went wide when she heard a squeaking noise behind then the door opening. She slowly turned and watched as Reins walked his air tank as always at his side. She breathed deeply as she tried to control her anger.

**Colorado**

I tapped my fingers to the beat of the song _I Wanna Fall in Love_ as I drove the McCoy family truck to town. I was humming along with the song when I pulled into the general store and café then climbed out of the truck.

_Maybe it's the pretend but I'm starting to like this kind of music besides she has a nice voice_ I thought as I slipped my hat on.

My eyes scanned the area uncontrollably before I stepped inside the store and a couple people turned to look at me. I smiled and dipped my hat to them then headed for the store counter.

I put my hands down on it, the store clerk came up, and she smiled. "Hey  
there what can I do for you?" she asked.

I smiled at her. "Hi I'm the new wrangler at the guest ranch I'm here to pick up a part that was put on hold for us," I said.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes I remember I put it in the back I'll be right back," she said, then turned and walked out the back door.

I turned around and leaned against the counter watching the people around me then out of the corner of my eye I saw a man in a county police uniform start come up to me. I turned to face him looking at my reflection in his aviators. He looked at me for a moment then slipped them off.

"Hi I'm Sheriff Hopkins you must be the new wrangler at the guest ranch?" he said, and extended his hand.

I nodded and took it taking note of the skull tattoo with a knife going into the top of the skull and going out under the jaw. His powerful muscles flexed as we shook hands.

"Alex Wayne," I said.

He chuckled. "Wayne as in John Wayne?"

I shook my head. "No relation to the Duke and don't tell me any jokes about him I've heard them all," I said.

Just then, the girl came back from the back from the back room charring a small wrapped package. "Here you go sir and give Kara our best," she said, and handed me the package.

I nodded and took it. "Will do," I said, and started out the door with the sheriff next to me.

As he slipped his aviators, back on I saw a sad glint in his eye. "Something wrong sheriff?" I asked.

He turned to look at me. "It's just that I can't believe that some people still believe in that woman," he said.

I frowned. "Sounds like you already have her condemned."

He looked at me and slipped his hat on. "Look I loved her like she was a sister but the facts can't be denied. She crashed her truck and almost got her boy killed and now she has to live with it," he said.

I nodded. "Perhaps," I said.

He smiled and extended his hand again. "Well I guess I'll be seeing you at the annual poker game tonight," he said, then turned got into his jeep cruiser and drove away.

"I'll see you tonight," I muttered as the dust from his vehicle drifted down.

I followed him with my eyes then dropped the package in the front seat and looked after him before my eyes turned to look at the sheriff's office. My eyes darted off to the side before darting back to the sheriff's office and I smiled.

**Ten Minutes Later**

I walked into the sheriff's office wearing a new suit and glasses courtesy of Centere Funds.

_Man I must look like the world's biggest geek and man do I hate ties_ I thought as I adjusted my tie.

The wooden floor thumped slightly under my boots and I looked around the whitewashed walls. To my right a section of wall had been cut away with a glass-sliding window behind it was a woman inn a wheelie chair with her back to me and on the counter was a radio. On the walls were posters that showed Buster McRuff Roller, D.A.R.E and other similar themes.

"Hello there Sheriff Hopkins?" I called out in a perfect Texas accent.

"He had to go to Colorado Springs he won't be back until the end of the day," said, the woman her back still to me.

"Well then maybe you can help me," I said.

I heard heave a big sigh then turned around in her chair and looked at me here eyes going up and down.

"What can I do you for?" she asked.

I smiled and reached inside my inside pocket and pulled out a business card and I took note of an assault rifle in a glass case. "Hey there missy my name is Earl Braxton, Internal Revenue Service we need to verify a few of things," I said, and she slid back the window and took it.

Five minutes later after thanking the secretary, I walked out of the sheriff's office the right files under my arm. I undid my tie as I walked down the road towards the truck and then put the files into the truck and grabbed the clothes I was wearing before and ducked out of sight. A few minutes later, I came out the new clothes over my arm and I stuffed them into the trash then started for the driver side door then froze.

_Oh yeah I almost forgot_ I thought then pulled off the glasses and tossed them over my shoulder.

I heard them ring in the trash bin behind me as I opened the car door and climbed in.

_Two points_ I thought as I turned over the ignition and started off.

On my way, back I made a slight detour from the ranch taking the route that Kara took. When I arrived at the scene, I pulled the truck off to the side and climbed out taking in the scene.

It was an old dirt road that had the forest on either side with a small ditch running along the right side with a small stream of water in it. I examined the area where the ground was charred and the nearby tree.

"Alex?"

I turned and saw Joanna on her horse come out of the trees. "Hi Joanna what are you doing here?" I asked, as she rode closer.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said, and dismounted.

"Just imagining what it must have been like for Kara," I said, then walked back and climbed back in to the truck.

I gripped the wheel and I heard the echo of a child's laughter. "They were joking around and singing to a song on the radio. Suddenly the wheel jerks and the sound of a tire exploding sounds inn her ears," I said, as my breathing came faster and Joanna watched me.

"The truck weaves left and right… I can't control it… THE TREE!" I said, as I weaved the wheel left and right until pulling it hard to the right.

I climb out of the truck and walk over to a section near the edge where Joanna and her horse was. "I can barely stay awake. My back itches it may be broken. I look up.

To my right the truck is completely turned over and just in front of me, James is lying on his chest, he's not moving. Suddenly gas starts leaking from the tank and starts seeping toward James. Fighting the pain I pull myself forward until I reach him that's when the gas is ignited.

The fire spreads quickly. Some come onto my shirt. My backs on fire as I pull James to safety. He's safe.

I'M BURNING HELP! I yell as I roll over trying to put out the flames," I said, as I moved with the scene.

My breathing was coming in great gasps as I stood and I turn to look at Joanna's stare. "What was all that?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Just trying to get into her head best not to mention it to anyone," I said, then climbed back into the truck and started the engine.

She nodded. "Right," she muttered.

"Anyway I got to get back to the ranch to deliver this part," I said.

"Oh guess you left to soon," she said, mounting her horse.

I looked at her frowning. "Why?" I asked

She shrugged. "The fridge just suddenly started working again so I guess you didn't have to go into town anyway. So see you back at the ranch," she said, then turned her horse around and rode into the woods.

I smiled after her _gee I wonder who that could have happened_ I thought and stared off for the ranch.

**The Centere a Few Hours Later**

Mr. Lyle passed back and forth in frustration the memory of California still fresh in his mind. After a moment, he slammed Alex's last notebook down hard on his desk just as his phone rang. He nodded toward his technicians before pressing the speaker.

"What," he snapped.

"Now, now Mr. Lyle temper you should try mediation or acupuncture," Alex said.

"I'll take it under consideration," Mr. Lyle muttered as the tracer wined down.

"This isn't about that strip search in California is it?" Alex asked, with a hint of laughter.

Lyle gritted his teeth in remembering. "I'll take it from your silence it's still fresh in your mind," Alex said.

Lyle's teeth was fully bared at this time, he glanced at the tracer monitor, and he smiled when he saw the tracer only needed a few seconds.

"Oh can you hold on a second?" Alex muttered and Lyle heard movement.

A second later, some of his technicians yelped in surprise, tore off their earphones, and began massaging their ears. Lyle frowned as he heard a loud screeching noise come out of them.

"Like I told your predecessors Lyle I discovered Radio Shack about a week after I escaped oh by the way you might want to look at the tracer monitor. And that package I sent you should be there by now," Alex said, then hung up.

Lyle looked at it and saw that fist it was showing him in Italy, then Japan, then Brazil, then…

Breathing like a rapid bull Lyle shuffled through his mail until he came to a large manila envelope with Alex's handwriting on it. He ripped open the top and pulled out what was inside. When he saw what it was, he gripped so hard his fingers, turned white then he looked at the technicians and saw that they were trying very hard not to laugh.

Eyes wide he turned over the paper and he stared furious that it was printed on both sides.

He looked up at the technicians, in half a second his gun was drawn, and they quickly froze. "One word of this and I redecorate in brain matter grey," he muttered.

"AAAAARRRRAGGGH!" Lyle roared in frustration crumpled the paper threw it in to the bin and stormed out slamming the door behind him.

The technicians started to giggle like crazy then froze as still as statues as shadow moved. From the shadow emerged Miss Parker who bore a toothy grin and after flashing her smile at them then walked over to the bin, plucked the paper out of the bin, and unrumpled it. She started to laugh as she looked at a photo of Lyle being strip searched by Navy MPs.

_This I'm framing Jarod you do have style I'll give you that_ she thought.

Then folded the paper and started to walk out of the office when she caught sight of the notebook. She frowned slightly and picked it up.

_Jarod's notebooks are red this one is black_ she thought.

She started walking out of the office. "Ah Miss…," and technician started then froze at the look on her face.

She walked out of the office and quickly as she could without looking inconspicuous into the sub-level elevator. Once the doors closed, she opened the notebook and looked the news clipping dated last week. Suddenly her head felt like it was splitting open the pain was so intense that she fell to one knee and the notebook slipped from her grasp.

_This… isn't… the voices… this… is… something else_ she barely managed the think as she groaned in agony.

In front of her, the doors slid open. "Well send Debbie my… MISS PARKER!" she heard a voice say and strong comforting hands took her by the upper arms.

"Sydney…," she muttered before losing concusses.

**Colorado**

I sat in a backwards chair in my room an arm resting on the head and my elbow resting on my wrist tapping a finger to my cheek. The contents of the file covering my bed with the covers pulled back.

_Sydney the answer is right there in front of me I may have the piece that can bring this all into focus help me_ I thought.

My eyes darted to the side of the bed to my DSA player then leaned over and pulled it out. I spun around on the chair, laid the player on the table, and opened it and running a finger over the DSAs picked the right one. I slid it into the slot and started it, the screen came to life, and I held my chin between my thumb and index finger.

**ALEX **

**08/04/1985 **

**FOR CENTERE USE ONLY**

I was sitting in a large room cross-legged Sydney in front of me with a projection of a murder scene on the wall. My eyes kept darting to the right where two people stood in the shadows.

"Alex pay attention," Sydney said, and my eyes snapped forward.

Sydney looked at the people in the shadows before looking at me again. "Now this is a scene from a string of serial murders. The police and FBI have exhausted all avenues maybe a new set of eyes will bring new evidence to light," he said, stepping off to the side.

I leaned forward my eyes scanning the entire scene then examined the files in front of me.

After a moment, I looked back up at the projection in frustration. "I can't figure it out Sydney," I said, in frustration.

"Think Alex remember what you told me," He said.

I looked at him and nodded then closed my eyes taking a deep breath then looked at the scene examining it more closely.

"Enhance grid four eighteen," I said, and as the area above the body where a window was situated was zoomed in on, I looked at the file again.

"What is it Alex?" Sydney asked.

After checking something over I looked back up at the image in front of me then down at the appear in my hand and smiled.

"Got him," I said, in triumph and held out the paper to Sydney who walked over and took it.

"Reason they can't find him is because he's right in front of them Sydney what the police didn't know is that part of his MO is that he cuts the power to the area that he kills people at. Then he turns back on the power and resets the clock at the scene and there's only one person who's alibi that can be affected by this and has access to the power company," I said, as Sydney looked over the paper.

After a moment, he smiled down at me. "Well done Alex we'll notify the authorities at once," he said, and walked away.

I looked back at the people in the shadows and smiled when one gave a nod and thumbs up that stuck out in the light.

I froze the DSA. "Of course," I muttered then whipped around and started shuffling through some papers until I found the right one.

After quickly scanning it, I tapped a section with my finger _she was coming back from the mechanics after getting her truck a complete work over. Including four brand new tires,_ I thought then turned at the sound of a knock at my door.

I put the paper down on the bed and pulled the covers over them. "Come in," I said.

Joanna poked her head in. "Alex come on the Card game is about start," she said.

I grabbed my denim jacket. "Right behind you," I said, and followed her.

* * *

LOVE IT HATE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK


	3. Shadow in the Night

Later that night, I was sitting at a round table playing poker with Adam, Sheriff Hopkins (who was out of uniform), Johanna and a few others.

I was having a lousy night and was down to my last two stacks of chips. I glanced over the top of my latest hand at the other players then slowly laid my hand.

"Read it weep boys and lady, three king's diamonds high," I said, leaning back in my chair, smiling as some of them moaned, throwing their cards down in disgust.

"Hold it right there big boy..." Johanna grinned wickedly as she leaned forward and laid down her cards. "...Full House..." She crowed.

I stared in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me." I said leaning forward to get a closer look.

"Built it with my own two hands." She said pulling the chips toward her.

"Johanna because of you the rest of us are hardly getting any action," Hopkins said dropping a chip in.

"It's just happens to be my lucky night sir, besides, I've got to pay for my college somehow. I am pre-med you know." She smirked at them.

"Must have Irish blood in her." Adam muttered as we fanned our cards out.

"Or else we've got a cheat here," said the hand beside Damon that had been pulled from his horse during the morning roundup and I narrowed my eyes on him as Joanna froze her eye blazing with rage.

"There are no cheats here! And if I hear one more accusation this game is over. Besides I seem to recall that you had lady luck on your side during the last game," Adam said looking at the hand next to Damon.

After glancing at my cards, I studied the others, reading their body language for clues to what they might have in their hands. Glancing down again, I asked for new cards. I spent a few minutes sorting them then returned my attention to the others to see who might have the big guns and who didn't.

I put my cards on the table and slid half my chips into the middle, some whistled, and Johanna arched her eyebrows.

Hopkins leaned against the table looking at me. "You're either bluffing or you have the best hand of the night." He drawled.

I shrugged as he continued to study me then slid the same amount onto the table. "I'll call that bet and raise you everything else you've got and more." He said, sliding the rest on plus a few more stacks of chips. At that move, the others threw down their cards.

I tapped my stack. "I can't cover that bet," I said and he smiled.

"I'll help you." Johanna said, sliding the extra stacks I needed toward mine. I glanced at her in surprise.

She gave me a sly smile under her long lashes. I grinned back and turned my attention back at Hopkins. The others watched us in excitement.

Hopkins and me studied each other for a long moment before he laid his cards down first.

"Straight flush in diamonds."

I held out for a few seconds more staring him in the eyes before tossing my hand down and laughing. He whooped, drawing the chips close to him.

"Like I said a bluff! Now excuse me gents, I must be off." He said jovially as he stood up.

"So soon? At least give me a chance to win my money back. I got hands to pay here." Adam complained, pushing his hat up slightly.

Hopkins shook his head. "No! If I stay any longer then when I finally do leave, I might have a Kara happen to me." He insinuated then left through the front door.

The room went deadly quiet...all eyes turned to Adam who turned white then flushed red with fury. He leapt from his chair and charged for the door. In a flash, me, Joanna, and several other hands were on our feet and grabbing Adam, blocking him from leaving after Hopkins.

"Let me go!" He snarled.

"He's not worth it Adam! Stop fighting us!" I barked him. "If it's ever proven that what happened to your wife and son was not Kara's fault, he'll be eating his words. Don't do something you'll regret!" Slowly he stopped struggling as outside we heard a truck pulling out.

After a moment we let him go then watched him storm out. I looked over to the other hands still sitting at the table. "Let's call it a night guys." I suggested, they nodded their agreement then left, one by one.

When only Johanna and I were left, I went back to my cards and after picking them up, flipped them over one by one revealing an Ace of Spades, King of Spades, Queen of Spades, Jack of Spades, and Ten of Spades.

"A Royal Flush! You bluffed your way to lose?" Johanna asked in surprise.

"I have my reasons." I said quietly, picking up my hat and walking past her.

Outside I breathed deeply and slipped my hat on as I walked down the steps, my boots clinking on the wood. After getting a sleeping bag from the bunks and feeling restless, I walked down to the stable in the moonlight. When I got there, I leaned against the railing looking out at the valley.

I was about to leave when a sound met my ears, I turned. In the moonlight, I saw Kara wheel her chair to The Centere of the ring. I frowned in confusion as I kept my eyes on her. Seconds later, I saw her lift a pistol from her lap.

Dropping my bag, I darted toward her and wrenched the gun from her grasp as she pressed it to her temple.

Her head whipped around to look at me as I glared down at her. "What are you doing?" I said.

"Kind of a silly question now give me back my gun!" She snarled trying to grab it but I held it out of her grasp.

"That's not going to solve anything just make it worse." I said firmly.

She stared at me hotly. "How could it get worse? I almost killed my own son!" She said looking away.

"I don't think what happened was your fault!" I said.

"Ha! That's a laugh, if it wasn't for me he'd be here right now." She choked.

"If it wasn't for you, he would be dead right now." I said.

She whipped her wheelchair around to face me.

"HE PRACTICALLY IS DEAD NOW! THE ONLY THING KEEPING HIM ALIVE ARE TUBES THAT PUMP AIR AND FOOD INTO HIM! I DID THAT TO HIM WHEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HIM! IT SHOULD BE ME IN THAT HOSPITAL BED!" She screamed.

I stared down at her unhappily for a moment then knelt down to be face to face with her. "You did more than you know for him and people here and in town believe in you. Your family loves you and don't blame you for what happened. But hey, if you want to prove them wrong by all means…" I said leaving the sentence hang as I took her hand and thrust the gun back into it then lifted it to her temple.

She watched me as I straightened and stepped back. "I won't stop you this time." I promised flatly.

Gripping the gun, she met my unwavering gaze. For a solid minute, we didn't move, eyes staring at each other. Then suddenly, she screamed in frustration and hurled the gun away. Tears began to fall as she dropped her face into her hands.

After giving her a moment, I knelt down again and held her hands. She looked at me. "Go home, they need you." I murmured gently. She gave me a sad smile then turned and wheeled away.

It was after midnight, when I flipped over a high wire fence and landed with a rolled in the midst of some wrecked cars. I was dressed all in black and wore a mask over my face. I crept through the salvage yard stacked high with piles of totaled cars, each damaged or with parts missing, the majority being tires.

Every now and then, I would stop to examine one in the moonlight then resume my search. Half an hour I searched until I came near The Centere of the yard. Before me, sitting between a Mercedes Benz and a bulky van, was a truck charred black from fire with the cab slightly caved in. I crept around it and, after checking the license plate in the back, started examining it inch by inch.

When I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to find anything, I froze at one of the back wheels. After running my hand along one spot and feeling a bump, I took out a knife and after a moment of work, I dug something out and it fell into my waiting palm. I held it up to look at it in the moonlight then spun around when I heard something.

I retreated into the shadows, slipping the object into my pocket. I heard something move toward me so I quietly moved away. Hiding behind a pile of cars, I peeked around and saw a shadowy figure bend down to examine the truck, then spring to its feet. It looked around wildly and as I began to move away, I saw it draw a gun.

As I rounded the corner, a cat leapt out through the windshield of a car on the ground and yowled at me. That alerted the person with the gun so I gave up sneaking and ran for the fence. I heard the figure racing after me in the dark as we raced through alleys of wrecked cars until the fence finally came into view. I ran full out toward it, my arms pumping hard then upon reaching it, leapt up and started to soar over it.

BANG!

I stumbled when I landed but quickly got to my feet and was running again. Once behind some cover, I felt safe enough to check for injuries. Reaching a hand to the back of my shoulder, I drew my hand back in the moonlight and saw it was covered in blood. Carefully taking off my shirt to show a black wife beater undershirt, I tore it into several pieces and used it to bandage my shoulder and make a sling. I walked to my car, slipping my mask off on the way.

I quickly drove back to the ranch and was surprised to see a light in the main building still on. After parking, I stumbled out of the car and walked into the kitchen to patch myself up when the other door opened.

I turned and saw Johanna looking at me in shock. "Alex what are…? OH MY GOD! YOU'VE BEEN SHOT!" She cried in fright, running toward me.

"It's ok I'm…" I started to say, stumbling against the counter for support when she pushed me against it to try to see my back.

She steadied me then wrapped an arm around my waist to tug me toward the living room. "You are not fine! You've lost a lot of blood and need to go to the hospital." She said tightly.

I pulled back, refusing to go any further. "No hospital!" I said sharply. Catching my breath, I said more calmly, "If you want to help me then gather the others."

She glared at me then sighed and left the room. Less than ten minutes later, older members of the McCoy's including Kara, arrived.

"What in tarnation is going on...?" Old man McCoy began to demand when he saw me and saw my arm in a sling. "What the heck happened to you?"

Johanna hurried in from the kitchen with warm water and bandages. "Alex had been shot…" She started to say.

"HE'S BEEN WHAT!" Adam yelled.

"He can't stay here he needs a hospital." Kara said wheeling forward.

"I can't explain now, but no hospital," I said shakily.

"Alex I may be pre-med but I can't…" Johanna began to object.

I stopped her by grabbing her arm. "Johanna! I took a guy's appendix out with nothing but a grape spoon. I'll talk you through it, ok. That bullet must be gotten out or it could slip into my bloodstream and I could die or lose my arm." I said grimly.

She stared at me then over at McCoy. He nodded solemnly and she sighed, surrendering. Moments later, I was sitting on a reversed chair facing the table where the medical supplies were. Adam was holding my hand while Kata and Old man McCoy held up mirrors for me to watch what Johanna was doing. I still wore my undershirt, a couple of old bed sheets were under my chair as I waited for her to return.

Her shaky breath approached me as she said, "Knife is sterile.".

I nodded. "Ok, now you have to cut me just a little...right there..." I said pointing with my other hand at the spot on the mirror as she poured alcohol along the wound.

She stepped forward breathing hard and I felt the edge of the knife waver near my skin. "Relax it's a standard pressure," I said trying to soothe her.

I heard her take a few deep breaths then felt the edge of the knife, more steady this time, cut into my skin lightly. I grunted in pain. "Ok that's enough now… take the clamps… and try to grab it…don't pull it out until you're certain you have it firmly in the clamps." I told her then gripped Adam's hand harder, feeling him wince but not saying anything.

Johanna picked up the clamps and began to push it into the wound. I felt more blood seep down my back then a bolt of pain shot through me as she touched the bullet. I hissed through clenched teeth.

"There it…is… now… remember… don't try to remove it until you've got a firm hold on it," I warned then bared my teeth again as she tried to clamp on it.

It took several tries but finally, I heard and felt a sucking sound as the bullet came out and the pain started to ebb away. "Ok here come the hard part, just remember don't hesitate," I said then placed a wooden spoon in my mouth.

For the next ten minutes, I grunted and groaned as she sewed me up and when she was done everyone sighed in relief.

"Let me see the bullet," I said as Johanna wrapped a bandage around my shoulder.

Adam handed me it. I held it up, examining it. "9mm, hollow point, copper jacket," I muttered standing up when Johanna was done and rolled my shoulder looking at her.

"You did a pretty good job," I said.

She nodded and went into the kitchen to wash her hands.

"Why were you shot?"

I turned facing Kara as she wheeled toward me. "We have a right to know." She demanded.

I looked at her then reached into my pocket and pulled out the object from the salvage yard, holding it up for them to see.

"Is that…" Adam started to say walking forward to get a better look.

"The bullet from a rifle. I got this from the wheel of your truck." I said tossing it on the table looking at Kara.

"And it's the proof that what happened wasn't your fault! That tire didn't blow...it was shot." I said. They looked at each other in stunned shock.

"But why…" One started to say.

"I think I know," Old man McCoy said as Johanna came back into the room, drying her hands.

"In the weeks before the accident, someone's been trying to buy the ranch sending e-mails or letters every other day. I turned him down every single time. Then, the day after the incident, I got another e-mail that said... 'See what happens when I don't get what I want?'..." He choked in anguish, tears beginning to fall from his eyes.

"If anyone is to blame for what happened it's me! If only I had told someone..." He moaned.

"Only what Dad! Sold out! This is our home and livelihood come hell or high water and we're not leaving." Kara said firmly, wheeling over to him.

She took his hands and they looked at each other. "It was his fault and his alone," She said and they embraced.

Adam smiled at the two of them then turned to look at Johanna. "Can you stay with Alex tonight?" He asked and she nodded.

He looked at me. "You've done my family a great favor. I thank you for that; I just hope I'm able to repay you." He said warmly to me then the three of them left leaving Johanna and me alone.

Some hours earlier...

"Miss Parker wake up, please wake up," A soothing voice pleaded, as I lay on something soft.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I smiled when Sydney came into view. "Hey, easy now." He said as I attempted to push myself up.

"I'm fine Sydney just a headache." I muttered holding my head as it throbbed.

"Just a headache you collapsed back there," he said concern in his voice.

I sighed and gave him a wan look and a rare smile. "I'm fine old man really." I reassured him and he blinked.

"You haven't called me that since…" He said, in a quiet voice but was interrupted when Broots barged in.

"Miss Parker are you…" He began worriedly.

"I'm fine Broots. Is there something you want and where's the notebook I had?" I asked briskly, climbing to my feet.

"You mean this?" Broots asked holding up the black notebook which I snatched from him.

"Could I be talking about any other? Looks like Jared had a change of mind about color," I said looking through the pages again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a strange look on Syd's face. "Something wrong Syd?" I asked and he jerked and shook his head then left. Leaving me and Broots alone.

"Wonder what's wrong with him?" Broots asked sounding as worried as I felt then I snapped my fingers in front of his face and he jerked back to look at me.

"Is there anything else?" I asked.

"We may have a lead on Jarod," He muttered and I smiled.

Colorado...

Johanna helped me to an unused cabin for the night then left me on the sofa to rest and came back with my things. As soon as she walked through the door I climbed to my feet, took my DSA Player from her and put it in the closet.

"Who are you?" She asked curiously. I turned back to her and smiled gently.

"Just a guy trying to figure things out. I've got to drink something. I'll be right back," I told her then went into the bathroom.

After drinking several cups of water, I studied myself in the mirror then untucked my undershirt and slipped it off. I slowly turned to see my back in the mirror and saw the various scars from the supervision of Dr. Rains. I looked away slipping the shirt back on; a tear in my eye hearing his voice in my memory then opened them realizing it wasn't just in my head.

I quietly opened the door and looked out into the living room of the cabin. Johanna was sitting on the couch, my DSA open in front of her. I silently opened the door the rest of the way feeling my anger boil up.

"...if they were to come in here, here, here and here at night they'll meet with minimal resistance, guaranteed they won't be detected and they'll be able to rescue the hostages," I heard myself say. I closed my eyes remembering the simulation.

"Very good Alex we'll send this out at once," I heard Dr. Rains say and my eyes shot open.

"He lied you know," I said suddenly. Johanna jumped up startled and whipped around to look at me.

I returned her gaze. "He did give the plan to the Special Forces Team but then he turned around and sold it to the Iranians...eight members of that team died... and the hostages weren't rescued," I said walking forward. Keeping my eyes on her, I stopped the player, took the disk out and closed the lid.

"What are you?" She asked, hesitantly.

I looked away then back at her. "I'm a Pretender. I can become anything I want to be; a doctor, a lawyer, an astronaut which I might add is not all it's cracked up to be. But I don't know who I am. Those people stole me from my family when I was a small child and for almost twenty years they held me hostage using me like a guinea pig until I escaped," I said and she just stared.

"I'm going to take a shower. I'll try not use all the hot water and I'll change the bandage when I'm done." I said then went back into the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, I climbed out and after a small rub down wrapped a towel around my waist. With a second towel, I started drying my hair as I walked out of the bathroom, finding the cabin empty. When I was finished with my hair, I picked up a new bandage that we brought with us and started rewrapping my shoulder.

When I was finished, I whipped around in the other direction and grabbed Johanna's wrist before she could touch my back. "Don't!" I growled looking her in the eye.

She stared back unflinching and slowly she raised the hand I held closer and closer. We stared at each other as her hand inched closer and something in her eyes was making me let it. Finally, her hand touched my cheek. I closed my eyes and reopened them now cupping her hand, my other one slowly reaching up to caress her cheek.

Just as slowly, I leaned down to her and our lips met. After a moment, we broke apart. She looked at me then turned to leave.

As she did, I reached out, grabbed her arm, spun her around and kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around my neck as the kiss deepened. Somehow, we made it to the bedroom and fell on the bed still lip locked.

At last, we parted lips and looked at each other. I ran my palm across her cheek, our breathing coming hard. "You are so beautiful," I whispered, she bushed, smiling. "Johanna I… I…"

She pressed her finger against my lips and said, "Its ok, I don't care," She breathed huskily and rolled us over so she was on top straddling me.

Slowly she sat up on me then reached down and started to remove her shirt, her white lace bra shining in the moonlight. I sat up when her eyes and most of her face was covered and her arms crossed above her head, grabbing them to stop her.

I smiled as she gave a little chuckle, her mouth opened slightly for me and I inched closer and after teasing her a couple of times, our lips met and I slowly released my hold on her arms as she removed her shirt completely, her eyes still closed.

When we separated, she looked at me smiling. "Love me," She coaxed warmly. I smiled as we sank onto the bed.

Later that night as Johanna slept in the crook of my arm, I stared at her then slowly so not waking her slipped out of bed and wrapped the towel around me. I walked back out to the living room of the cabin. Taking out my DSA, I inserted a disk and set it to play.

I watched a younger version of myself walk up to two people in the shadows and sit down.

"How do you know when you're in love?" I had asked and the person chuckled.

"That's very direct," He said.

I shrugged. "We may not have much time," I had said and I saw his shadowed head nod.

"You never really know for sure. You can read about it but the only time you'll truly know is when you are." He said wisely. I nodded.

"Alex."

I turned and watched as Sydney came up to the figure and me. "Come on, we have work to do," He said.

I stopped the DSA and closed the lid.

Sighing, I combed my fingers through my hair then rubbed my face then returned to the bedroom and slipped back into bed. Johanna cuddled closer in her sleep.

As she sighed with content, I brushed her cheek. "I love you." I murmured softly.

**PLEASE REVIEW TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK**


	4. Reasons

With a jerk, Alex's eyes opened early in the morning as the remnants of the nightmare ravished his mind. Breathing hard, his hand arched up and cupped his forehead. After a few seconds, he lowered it to look down at Johanna still snuggled close to his chest.

'I don't deserve her," he thought wryly, slipping from the bed without waking her.

Sometime later, Johanna, sighed, a smile on her lips as she opened her eyes. Her arm encountered nothing beside her. Turning her head, she verified Alex had gotten up and left her alone.

Pouting a little, she pushed the bedding off and climbed out of the bed. Seeing nothing immediately at hand to put on her naked form, she grabbed the sheet and wound it around her torso before walking toward the window. Feeling a little downcast, she pulled the curtains open to allow in the light of a new day, hoping that would cheer her up.

Peering out, she spied Alex standing on a small boulder, his body moving fluidly as he worked out. She watched him bend over backward into a handstand and flip until he was on his feet again. "His shoulder seems to be doing better," she mused, turning away to get dressed.

Half an hour later, Alex came back inside, a light coating of sweat gleamed on his body. Johanna was cooking at the stove. He grinned and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, then said, "I was hoping for some breakfast."

"What was that you were doing out there?" She asked, sliding some bacon on a plate.

He was silent for a moment then released her to go and get some plates out of the cupboard. "Something they had me do to keep in shape, plus it also taught me how to fight," he answered quietly, as he set the table.

"It seemed like it would," she said casually then added, "and what do you call what happened last night? Did we suddenly move to hyper speed in the relationship department?" She eyed him pointedly as she brought the food to the table and served up.

Alex chuckled a little, murmuring, "more like warp speed." She gave him an askance look as she buttered some toast.

"Hey! I may have been raised by kidnappers but I did go see Star Trek once I escaped," he said defensively, cutting and stabbing some French toast with his fork.

"Ok, spill... who's your favorite Captain and what did you think of the show?"

Alex chewed his food as he thought. "Picard all the way and, even though the science is valid, I'm more of a Star Wars kind of guy," he finally said making her laugh.

They ate in silence for a few minutes then Johanna cast a strange look at him. "I'm kinda finding it hard to believe that last night was your first time," she said slowly, curiosity lacing her voice.

Alex froze, his last bite less than an inch from his mouth then relaxed. "As one of their many experiments they made me watch a couple doing it," he said rather tightly, putting his last bite in his mouth while she stared at him dumbstruck.

"How old were you?" she asked, an edge in her voice.

"Thirteen,"

"That's monstrous!"

"Yeah, well they weren't too big on up holding laws or human rights," Alex said caustically, standing up and taking his plate to the sink.

She was silent as he stood in front of the sink, slowly lowering the dishes into it. "Johanna they did a lot of things to me there...trained me to be something dangerous...they wanted a killer..." he said thickly, not daring to look at her.

She stood suddenly and came up behind him. "It seems to me they failed," she said softly. "I don't feel threatened by you."

He swallowed, she just didn't get it and it was his responsibility to make her understand. "Listen to me...just before I managed to escape, whenever I was removed from my secured quarters they would bound my arms to my chest to keep me from killing those around me. On the day I finally broke free, I put my watchers in the hospital with severe injuries. One nearly died. I fled far away but the first thing I did was to buy a rifle and plan an assassination of an African politician. I got as far as sighting him through my cross hairs when something happened to stay my hand," he paused, shaking slightly from the memory.

"What happened?" She asked carefully, caressing his back in soothing circles.

He closed his eyes when he spoke again, "…a memory popped into my head of a very good friend that… that died a long time ago...he was good and kind...all the things I had wanted to be. It was in that moment, I realized what I had become...what they had made me...a monster! Horrified and angry, I dismantled the rifle and disposed of it then walked away. I've worked hard ever since to deny that monster and to try and be like that old friend," he said with cold determination.

"However, that hasn't stopped them from trying to find me and I fight every day to keep the monster they created locked up inside of me...some days, Johanna, when I see so much injustice and others suffering pain, the monster fights to get out...to deal out death...to even the score...but I know, once I start, I'll never be able to stop," he said bitterly. He felt her grip on his arms tighten. He thought for certain she would turn away from him.

"Alex that monster whatever it is, that's not you!" She told him firmly.

"Isn't it? Every time I hold a gun, I feel it urging me to pull the trigger...to kill!" he nearly shouted.

"But you've succeeded! You don't kill! You help people!" She insisted.

He pulled away from her and took a few steps away, taking up a stance behind one of the chairs. "I help others because its what he would have done...I wanted to make him proud of me. But its so hard...every night I'm haunted by the people killed because of what I was made to do in The Centere as well as all the horrifying things they did to me there. In those dreams, the people keep asking me the same question over and over," he choked and stopped, hands gripping the back of the chair.

"What do they ask?"

He stared at her, his eyes haunted. "They keep asking me 'why did I have to die?'"

She stared at him silently for a long moment then said softly as she turned away to stare outside, "No wonder."

He frowned at her in puzzlement, "...no wonder what?"

"No wonder you never let anyone in," she murmured thoughtfully.

"Then why did you let me get close to you? Why did you let last night happen?" He asked in confusion, surprised she knew so much about him.

She slowly turned back to him. "Because you believed in me when I didn't," she said simply.

His lips parted in mild surprise then smiled. "I was starting to believe it was my good look."

She shook her head letting out a chuckling, "no, those were just a bonus and you're not as good looking as you think." Walking up to kiss him.

When they broke apart, she smiled. "Do you have any suspects?" She asked.

"A couple, but I prefer not to say before I'm certain or even before I know why. And for that I think I'm going to need a guide around the ranch," he said, flashing her a smile.

A short time later, the pair were riding along a forest track and had come across a meadow shadowed by the mountains on one side of it.

He shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. Every now and then, catching her glancing at him occasionally.

"What is it?" He finally decided to ask, stopping his horse.

She'd been surprised by his sudden stop and had to turn her horse and right the short distance back to him. "For a Pretender, you're not doing so well," she said archly.

"It's my shoulder the riding keeps jarring it," he snorted, shifting said shoulder a bit and wincing.

"But this morning you were able to do a hand stand back onto your feet and it didn't seem to faze you at all," she said in surprise.

"Are you kidding? That hurt like hell," he grumbled, urging his horse to a trot once more. She kicked her horse to follow.

When she was close to him once more, she asked, "How do you do it?"

"What?"

"Become a different person like you do?"

"You want a demonstration?"

She stopped and maneuvered her horse close to him. "Why not," she said.

Sighing, he wrapped his reins around the saddle horn. "Give me your hands I need physical touch for my psychic powers," he said gruffly, holding out his hands.

She gulped then held her hands out and he took them gently. He examined them closely then her face just as closely.

"Your father was mostly of Irish decent with a touch of French and English. Your mother was of the Sioux nation and you hold your native heritage in high regard. You grew up on a cattle ranch in central Montana and are the third child of five. You had a cat when you were five though you spent most of your time in the saddle. You lost someone very dear to you when you were ten to, I believe was Huntington's disease...your grandmother, I think. That is what made you decide to study medicine. You're determined and vastly independent. Though not to a fault because when someone you care for is threatened nothing short of death will stop you from helping that person out," he said. All she could do was gape at him with her mouth hanging open.

"Wow! You really are psychic." She breathed in shock.

He kept a solemn face for all of a minute before bursting into laughter. "No, I'm not psychic," he managed to say, letting go of her hand.

"Then how…?"

"I'm a Pretender, that's what I do. It's why I was kidnaped and trained to hone that skill. They used me as a guinea pig to see if they could improve my natural talent then sell me to the highest bidder as their paid assassin," he said flatly as they rode out of the meadow and into the forest once more.

She was silent as they rode through the forest then asked, carefully, "Why did they whip you?" He stared at her.

"The scars on your back, why did they do that to you?"

He sighed and debated whether to tell her or not when he caught sight of something behind her. He frowned and stared. She turned to look in the direction he was staring at.

"Where does that go?" He asked, turning the horse to face the small pathway he'd spotted and urging it to go forward.

"I don't know. I've never led guests this far out before," she said hesitantly, curious now too, turning her horse to follow him.

As they rode through the unkempt path, they were forced to keep an arm up to prevent being hit by low hanging branches. In one section of the path, the way was so bad, they were forced to dismount and lead the horses on foot. Finally, they reached the end after circumventing a large thorn bush growing in the path.

In a clearing on the other side they saw and assortment of rusted metal carts, equipment, and tools scattered around the area. Halting, they dismounted and tied the horses to the bushes beside them then they turned to walk cautiously toward a framed hole dug into the side of the mountain.

"I never even knew this was here," Johanna muttered walking over to examine one of the carts.

Alex nodded then bent down to pick up a stick and started shifting a few things on the ground.

"What is it?" She asked in his ear. He glanced over and found her squatting beside him.

"Well you're the Sioux you tell me," he snorted, returning his gaze to the ground.

She was silent for a moment then took the stick from him and began shifting things around. "Someone's been here," she muttered distractedly.

He agreed with her as he lifted a slab of wood. "And sometimes he brought things with him."

"These tracks were well hidden, I almost missed them," she continued, raising her head and looking around.

He stood up and stared toward the mine entrance. Frowning, he reached behind him and pulled out a knife from a sheath on his belt. Walking up to the frame of the opening, he scraped off some of the wood and examined it before tossing the shaving away, a frown on his face.

"What?" She asked him, coming up to his side.

He eyed her a moment before saying, "whoever was here, did some repair work then attempted to make it look old and unused. The question is, why?"

"Any ideas?"

"A few, but right now I favor the direct approach."

He headed into the mine. Frowning she followed. It was gloomy inside and he paused to make a torch of a fallen branch and a bit of stray cloth.

He held the torch high to shed as much light as the smoky thing could give him as they looked around. "Now what could be so important in here that someone would go to all this trouble to disguise it?" He wondered aloud. A bat suddenly flew by and drawing their eyes toward it and finding a generator against the mine wall.

He stepped over to it and knelt down to examine it. It was fairly new. "Well, we're about to find out," he muttered as he flipped the switch to turn it on.

With a small roar, the generator came to life and lights around them flickered on. As the light strengthened, they could see modern equipment strewn around; jackhammers, pickaxes, a moistly intact mine cart on tracks, but what caught their eye was the veins of minerals shining in the light. The two of them stood in awe as they processed what they were seeing..

"Alex do you see…" Johanna began, almost breathless with awe.

"Uh-huh...,"

"Is it?"

"Uh-huh...,"

"It's diamonds...,"

"Yep!"

**Sorry about the confusion folks its just that I decided to swicth to the third person PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK**


	5. Blood Diamonds

Alex and Johanna stared at the sparkling stones on the low work table next to a rock wall. He crouched low on bent legs to get a better look at the stones as Johanna gaped, open mouthed at them.

Captivated and amazed by the glittery display, Johanna came close and knelt near Alex. She reached a hand toward one of the stones. In a flash, Alex grab her hand with his, pulling it back away from the display then releasing it.

"Don't touch!"

She gave him a hurt and angry look. "Why! There's plenty of stones here so why not take one for ourselves," she argued, again reaching out.

He snatched her hand away again and held it, staring into her eyes grimly. He stood up, pulling her gently to her feet as well. "No. People who make a discovery like this always notice if some of their product is missing. Besides these are blood diamonds. Kara was put in a wheelchair and her son was almost killed because of them.

Her face fell and she turned away. Sighing, she said, "since this was discovered on their land, Kara and her family, are set for life once we get these jokers who are stealing it." She studied the veins of diamonds still held within the rock walls.

"Maybe, maybe not," Alex muttered, crouching low and running his fingers in the dirt where some equipment once stood.

Johanna stared down at him. "What do you mean? These stones have got to be worth fortunes upon fortunes."

"Yes some of them may be but not all, see diamonds are like gold, it all depends on the purity of the stone and the minerals in the carbon. Which means some of these diamonds could be worth a lot while others aren't." Alex picked a stone at random from the ground.

Johanna watched as he brought the stone close to his mouth and breathed on it. He studied it a moment before pocketing it.

"I thought you said we couldn't take any of the stones? And why did you breathe on it?" She demanded.

He stood up again. "We can't take the ones in plain sight. And breathing on it can determine whether or not it's a real diamond. Come on, we've learned all we can here...time to make ourselves scare.

He turned off the generator then the two of the hurried out. As they left the area, Alex did his best to cover their tracks so the miners wouldn't realize anyone had been here. They made for their horses and mounted.

"Where to now?" Johanna asked.

"To town. I need a UV light to test the quality of the stone and there's something else I want to check on," he said, then kicked his horse into a gallop. Johanna did the same still confused by what he was up to.

When they reached the ranch, they unsaddled the horses and brushed them down before putting them into the paddock. Heading from the barn, they made for the truck parked outside and headed to town. Some twenty minutes later, Alex pulled up in front of the general store and parked. The two of them headed inside with Alex keeping guard, on alert for anyone watching them. Picking up what he needed they got back into the truck and drove to the site of the wreck.

Alex parked the truck and got out to look around.

"What are you looking for?" Johanna asked, getting out and watching him.

"The site where the shooter fired from," he grunted, not taking his eyes off the ground and area he was studying.

"Why?" She scanned the tree line looking for clues as well.

"Because if we find the spot, I can determine whether or not it was just dumb luck by someone who was just shooting at targets or it was someone whose a very skilled sniper aiming at us."

At that moment, Johanna spotted something. She touched his shoulder and pointed. He turned to see what had attracted her attention. She was pointing at a spot just above the tree line where a section of mountains could just barely be seen.

"Could that be the place?' she asked.

In his head, Alex calculated the distance then took another quick look around before eyeing the spot again. "It's possible. That section has the only direct line of sight for a clear shot. Let's go check it out."

They headed back to the truck and after a half hours drive, arrived at the spot she'd seen below. They got out and looked down to where the accident had happened.

"So what can you tell by what you've seen so far?" Johanna asked.

"We are definitely dealing with a man. He was laying down on his belly when he fired and the barrel was perched between those two rocks. Also..." His voice faded off when his eye caught something between the rocks. Alex said then faltered when something between the rocks caught his eye.

Johanna was puzzled by his sudden tension as she could see no reason for it. "What's wrong?"

She watched as he picked up a piece of fabric and some dirt. His head came up and looked around quickly. Standing slowly, he began to move, hissing softly to her, "Johanna, act natural and head for the truck at a leisurely pace."

She did as ordered but asked, "what is it?"

"Tell you later," he muttered tightly.

Only when they were back in the car and driving back to the ranch, did Alex relax.

"Okay, what was that all about?"

Alex sighed, glanced her way a moment before returning his attention to road ahead. "We are dealing with a trained sniper."

"You could tell that by a piece of fabric and dirt?"

"It wasn't dirt it was sand," Alex responded as he parked the truck and climbed out.

"Ok, so it was sand but how do you get expert sniper from that?" Johanna asked, putting the bag with the UV light down on the counter in the kitchen.

He leaned against the counter and gave her his full attention. "Because Marine Special Ops and Army Special Forces Snipers, are trained to use these bags of sand. One small squeeze is enough to adjust the hairs of the scope to a target. In fact some people use the same thing for stress relief or hot and cold treatment for sore muscles," he explained.

She blinked at him. "Really, wow! That's cool to now."

He gave her a wane smile as he walked to a cabinet and fetched a glass then the sink to get some water. "Now all I have to do is find out who has that kind of training and lives within a five mile radius.

A thoughtful look passed over Johanna's face a moment. "Beside me!" Alex snorted, annoyed. She shook her head and walked to his side, smiling.

"I wasn't thinking of you."

"You're talking to a walking polygraph, Johanna," he said, archly.

She gave him a sideways look. "Ok, so it crossed my mind, after all it would be the perfect way to cover your tracks, making it look like you were trying to solve what happened."

"And what would I have to gain by showing you the mine?"

"An offer to split it down the middle."

She leaned against him coyly, he shook his head and smiled, putting a light hand on the back of her head. "You should know by now that money means nothing to me." He brought her closer until their lips met.

They separated at the sound of a clearing throat and turned to see Kara staring at them. "Well it's nice to see you're taking good care of him, Johanna." She smirked at the two of them from the doorway.

Alex released Johanna who smiled at Kara while rubbing the back of her head where Alex's touch still lingered.

"Any new leads?" Kara asked Alex who looked down at her as she wheeled into the room.

"A few but I'd rather not say anything until I'm certain," Alex told her gently.

Kara nodded. "You know I never did ask who you worked for," she said eyeing him questioningly.

Alex held her gaze as he said straight faced, "I work for the State Police."

"Okay. That's good to know. Tomorrow is the overnight ride. I want you, Alex, and a few of the other wranglers on it. Is your shoulder up to it?" Kara said, briskly, all business now.

"Sure thing," he agreed but as Kara turned to leave, he called her back, "Kara, wait." She turned to stare at him questioningly.

"I need a favor..." he began. Kara listened then arched her eyebrow in surprise.

Later that night in the spare cabin, he prepared to use the UV light on the raw diamond.

"Is this test really necessary?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes. The fate of this family rests on the results. Someone thinks this is important enough to harm them and mine on their land without permission. I need to find out why by determining what kind diamonds they are."

She nodded and stayed silent as he laid the stone on the faceplate of the light. As soon as the strong, bright light hit the diamond, patterns erupted onto the ceiling and walls as they passed through the stone.

"That's beautiful…" Johanna breathed in awe as Alex examined the patterns closely.

Finally, he groaned in anguish and put his face in his hand.

"What's wrong? Aren't they any good?" Johanna asked anxiously.

Raising his head up again, he gave her a bleak look. "No, they're worthless..."

She erupted instantly in a loud rant of fury. "SO YOU'RE SAYING, THAT SOMEBODY PUT KARA IN A WHEELCHAIR...HER SON IN A COMA... FOR A BUNCH OF…" s

He lunged at her and clapped a hand over her mouth. For a long moment, their was silence, Johanna's eyes wide but not resisting, Alex tense and listening hard. When he could hear nothing, not even the smallest disturbance, he relaxed and removed his hand.

"Yelling like that will let others know what we're up to. This cabin isn't sound proofed you know," he said in warning.

"Sorry," she flushed in embarrassment.

"Fine, now may I please finish?' She nodded. He went on, "As I was saying, these stones are worthless as gems…" he continued and looked back at the stone still on the UV light. "However, I can name several industrial and computer companies who would pay several king's ransoms for them."

Denver National Airport…

Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots walked down the steps of the private jet they'd arrived in. A short distance away, a car was waiting for them.

Broots paused a moment before entering the car to admire the mountain range beyond the airport apron. "Debbie would love this," he murmured more to himself than his companions.

Miss Parker stared at him over the top of her sunglasses. "Broots, we're not here to sightsee," she snapped as she took out her cell phone and dialed.

She put it to her ear. "Daddy?...Yes we've just landed in Colorado...I'll call you if there are any updates...love you too, bye." She closed her cell and climbed into the car as did the others and soon they were heading for their hotel.

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	6. Stained Honor

The next morning Joanna woke up alone again and slipping from bed, she looked out the window and saw that Alex wasn't exercising her nightshirt shifting. Starting to feel a little worried, he had left and went to the door. Opening it, she saw Alex in a Marine Blues uniform without the jacket, which was hanging over a chair.

He turned as she gocked at him from the door. "What are you doing?" she demanded, and he turned showing the frying pan with eggs bacon already cooling on a plate.

"You cooked breakfast for me yesterday it seemed only right that I return the favor," he said, putting the food on the table.

She chuckled as she sat down. "Where'd you go you didn't come to bed last night," she said.

"I caught a flight out to DC and back got back around six this morning," he said, and she froze in mid bite.

"Six that was two hours ago, when did you sleep?" she said.

"On the flights, and don't worry nobody saw me when I came back," he said.

"How did you get back?"

"Through the forest,"

At this, she frowned. "There wasn't a speck on those shoes," she said, and he smiled.

"You do have a good eye I told you I was good," he said, and she eyed him.

"So why did you have to go to DC? And what was it like being a Major in the Devil Dogs?" she asked.

"I had to pick up some personal files there and the silver clover means Lieutenant Colonel, now I have to change as you know with us leading the overnight ride later," he said, then walked into the bedroom.

"What too difficult to hack the DOD?" Joanna asked.

"No to dame dull," Alex said, from inside the room.

"You know I was thinking of who might have done this last night and what about Hopkins he keeps boasting about how he was in the Marines," she said, put the dishes in the sink.

"He wasn't in the Marines, tried to get in when he was seventeen failed the psych eval five times, he's a bladder full of hot air. An asshole but a bladder full hot air," he said, as he came out and folded the uniform over the jacket taking care not to crease it.

"Then do you know who did it?" she asked, looking at him as he slipped the uniform into a suit bag.

"I will by tomorrow," he said, slipping in his hat.

Down at the ring Alex was looking over a couple of the guests with their horses some dressed so outlandishly it almost made him laugh. He was taking some stuff down he paused and turned around and saw Megan standing there holding a mug in both hands the contents issuing a light trail of steam into the air.

"Can I help you little lady," he said, squatting down.

"My mom said, that you are here to help us," she said, and I frowned looking at her after glancing around.

Slowly his eyes narrowed. "Your mother didn't say that to you, or your sister," he said, after a moment and she blinked eyes widening.

"I hope you don't make it a habit of eavesdropping on your parents," he said, and she lowered her gaze.

"What's that you got there?" he asked, nodded down at the mug in her hands.

"I made it for you," she said, holding out the mug for me.

Frowning he took it and stared at the dark liquid inside with turned lighter and darker as Alex swirled it around the mug. Hesitant he brought it close and sniffed it a pleasant smell met his nose, which brought a small smile to his face. Tentatively after a moment, he took a sip.

At once, his eyes went wide as an explosion of pleasure raced through his body right to the tips of his fingers and toes. As he greedily downed the drink and Megan watched wide eyed as a small amount of the liquid spilled lightly on his shirt. When he lowered the mug, he had a little mustache.

"This is delicious what is it?" he said, a wide smile on his face and Megan frowned at him.

"Its hot chocolate," she said, and then turned as Joanna came in.

After arching eyebrows at me, she looked down at Megan. "Honey your mother is coming why don't go help her," she said, squatting down.

Megan nodded and after glancing back at Alex darted out of the tack room leaving Joanna and Alex alone. "You never had hot chocolate before?" she asked, walked forward as he ran his finger along the inside and began to suck them off.

"I never had ice cream until I escaped," he said, then licked up his little mustache and she blinked taken aback.

"Then what the hell did they feed you?" she demanded, taking down a couple saddles.

"A dietary supplement that one guy said, he wouldn't feed to his dog, in fact it actually scared a dog once," Alex said, and she snorted then saw how serious he was.

"The more you tell me about those people and that place the more it sounds like something out of Nazi Germany," she said, as they walked out of the tack room.

"In a lot of ways it was plus one of my watchers was a Concentration Camp survivor," Alex said.

"That's kind of ironic," she said, as they spotted Adam walk up to them in his hands were Winchester rifles in sheaths.

"Everything set?" Alex asked, walking up to him and Adam nodded.

"Yeah just as you asked, now you'll defiantly need these," Adam said, and held out the rifles.

Nervously after glancing at the rifles Joanna looked at Alex as he slowly reached out and slowly took them from Adam and Joanna saw his knuckles turn white. "Well I'd better give the guests the usual safety brief," Adam said, clapping his hands and walking away.

When he was out of sight Alec fell to one knee his head falling into his hand knocking his hat to the ground. "Alex are you alright?" she demanded, dropping down beside him cringing at the look of agony on his face.

"Yeah… it's just… never failed to happen," he said, after a few seconds when he was able to regain his composure.

"Are sure you're ok?" she asked, keeping a worried eye on him.

Nodding he said, "Yeah after that attempt I spent time at a couple Shaolin and Buddhist temples. Great mental discipline," before he continued forward.

"Ok ladies and gentleman welcome to the overnight ride…," he said, when he faced the mounted guests.

_A few hours earlier… Denver Colorado_

That morning Miss Parker woke in her luxury suit and rolling out of bed walked to open her blinds and looked out at the mountains. Smiling at the sight, her mind drifted. At knock at her door, she lost the smile and frowning faced the door.

"What!" she snapped as Sydney came in.

"Any news?" she snapped taking out a cigarette and lighting it her hands shielding the flame of her lighter.

"I thought you quit," he said.

"Old habits… now is there anything new!" she said, holding her smoking cigarette between two fingers.

_Back at the ranch…_

As we rode higher into the mountains, Alex kept an eye on the guest. Some clambered away with each other, others took pictures of the scenery, some of the kids listened to music on iPods. When they reached the overnight camping spot which was a meadow reaching to a cliff that over looked it and a waterfall feeding the river the flowed through the meadow and the guests gaped.

"That's what they all say," Joanna said, smiling and nodded.

"I can imagine, by the way who is that always hanging out with Damon?" he said, pointing.

Looking over she smiled. "That's Robert, according to them they go back along way, all the way to high… why?" she asked, suddenly looking at him.

"Just curious, you know like George, though I'm still trying to figure out who The Man in the Yellow hat is," he said, urging his horse forward and a second later he smiled as she started laughing.

Later after Alex helped a guest set up his tent, he joined Damon and the other wrangler around the fire. "Ok folks, this trip we have a real treat for you. We are going to give you a meal right out of the old west," he said, lifting one foot onto a log and laying the butt of one of the on his knee.

A short while later Alex grimaced as the headache he was having grew worse with each minute he held the rifle. He was following Damon and Joanna through the thicket following the game trail. Coming to a clearing we spied a small heard of deer was grazing.

Looking at us Damon looked at us and signaled for us to take point before disappearing into the bush. Before he left me, Joanna glanced my way and sighed if I was ok. Nodding I slipped into the bush.

Utterly silent he slipped in behind the heard before he quietly took off his hat and slowly took aim at what he deemed the oldest of the group. Slowly he lined the sights up with the doe as she grazed with the herd. Slowly he felt his finger slid onto the trigger…

Jerking the rifle away he let out a held breath and breathing hard he picked up a good-sized dry stick. Then broke it with a snap. Like they had been struck by lightning, the herd bolted.

He watched the herd run through the meadow away from him and how the doe he had targeted mingled in with the main herd. Suddenly a shot sounded and despite the amount of deer in front of the one of the stags, it dropped like a stone no other deer injured. Slowly he stood slinging the rifle over his shoulder as people came out cheering.

Walking out he watched as they converged on the dead stag. "Sorry to take the shot from you Wayne," a voice from the edge of the clearing said.

Turning he faced Damon. "It's quite alright, I don't really like what these can do to living thing," he said, and nodding Damon nodded smiling.

Smiling Damon walked forward and patted Alex on his shoulder and Alex eyed the tattoo on his forearm. It was a of a skull with wings on either side, lightning bolts under either side of the jaw with knives butts aligning with them at the top of the head which had three bullet holes in it. Slowly Alex looked at Damon again.

"Don't worry it's not for everybody," he said, walking over to the deer and Alex watched him go.

Alex remained where he was as Joanna came close. "It's him isn't it?" she asked, in an undertone and he glanced at her.

"Was he…?" she started to ask.

Lowering the rifle into his other hand, he faced her. "The tattoo says it all," he said, as they turned away from the sight of the men dressing the stag.

"What about it?" she asked.

"It's a Marine Force Recon Sniper tattoo," he said.

"Then bust him," Joanna said, starting to turn around and he grabbed her stopping her.

"Listen to me he's fifth generation Marine. He knows about be a soldier not mining," he said, and he watched as it dawned at her.

"He has an accomplice…," she muttered.

"Or he is the accomplice…," he said, and she frowned.

"I pulled his record when I was in DC and it was spotless up until his last mission. One of the female operatives under his command was raped. He beat the man bloody for it, and he was discharged," he said.

Her eyes narrowed at that. "That doesn't sound like the guy we're hunting," she muttered, looking at Damon.

Shaking his head Alex followed her gaze. "No the guy pulling the strings is cold, unfeeling. Especially to target a mother and child," he said.

"So why did you set this up if you looked at his file?" she asked, as they walked away.

"I wanted to know if he still had the edge, what kind of a man he was after a kill," he said.

Nodding in understanding Joanna glanced at him. "Well it's nice that you handled yourself well with the rifle," she said.

Stopping he looked at her holding the rifle in both hands. "It helps…," he started as he cocked rifle by the level action under the rifle.

Her mouth opened slightly when no bullets were ejected. "…when you don't take any chances," he finished before he walked away leaving her.

Later that night Damon sat alone away from the guest who were around the campfire laughing and talking. Lowering his gaze, he turned back when a glint of light caught his attention on the ground. Standing he walked over and bending over he picked up a foggy stone that seemed to shine.

"What was it Damon?"

Whipping around he watched as Alex stepped out of the darkness. "Does somebody have something on you or was it simple greed?" he asked.

"I don't know what you talking about," Damon said, and turning walked right into Joanna.

"Don't you play us Damon, we know you about the mine, where do you think that came from," she said, nodding at the stone in his hand.

"And you know what's been bothering me? Is how can an ex decorated Marine sink so low as to do something like this," Alex said, walking forward.

Slowly Damon looked at him. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"Someone who believes that what happened to Kara and her son isn't right, and someone who believes that anyone who wears this…" he said, seizing Damon's arm and raised it to show his tattoo.

"… is a better man then that…," he finished and Damon lowered his gaze.

After a few seconds silence Alex asked, "do you remember what Semper Fi means?"

Damon looked up and nodded. "It was burned into my memory by my grandfather and father, 'Always Faithful'," he said.

"Then reclaim your honor, and do the right thing," Alex said.

A short while later the three were walking through the darkness Alex and Joanna listening to Damon. "…simple thing to do check the old mine see if the Ranch could use it as another attraction. Robert was asked, to go to look around to see if it was safe because McCoy knew his father manages a mine up north and he knows the business not to mention his worked at mine as a geologist before he was fired for harassment of a female employee.

When we got there it was so run down I was willing to pack it up then and there. But Robert insisted… and so… we went in," he said, as they came to a stop.

"And that's how you found the diamonds?" Joanna asked, and Damon nodded.

"He was just picking at the rocks with a little hammer when a small section of the wall fell at his feet. I can still see how those stones shined by our flashlights. I've never seen him so happy until I pointed out we were still on McCoy's land.

Well he told me let's not go telling them until we knew for sure what we had there and he took some stones to test. A few weeks later I overheard McCoy talking about threatening E-mails he was getting…," Damon continued.

"So you confronted him," Alex said, and he nodded.

"I found him hammering at the rocks in the mine. I almost whopped him then and there but then he showed me this," he said, then reached into the breast pocket of his shirt pulling out a set of pictures.

Taking them Alex ruffled through them as they depicted two women in their late twenties early thirties and an old man in his early sixties going about a daily routine. "Who are they?" he asked.

"This one is my sister and dad up in Minnesota, the other my fiancé," he said, pointing to each in turn and Alex and Joanna looked at him.

"He said, that if I said anything or didn't help him they'd be killed, god forgive me so I did, to keep my family safe," Damon said, looking away.

Alex was silent for a moment before he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll keep them safe, but I may need your help later," he said, and Damon frowned.

"Why? What are you going to do?" he demanded.

Alex smiled. "Well hopefully in short order get a good night's sleep, because tomorrow the fun begins," he said.

As the other wranglers and guests were turning in for the night after song were sung and stories told Joanna found Alex sitting alone under a tree looking up at the stars. "What are you doing?" she asked, and he looked at her.

When he didn't answer, she sat down next to him. "Trying to think of a way to keep those girls safe," she said, and he nodded.

"Do you know his fiancé?" he asked.

Nodding she followed his gaze. "Yeah she's a local girl, a little high strung, but a heart of gold," she said.

"When we get back I want you to stick to her like glue," he said, and she nodded.

"And the sister and father,"

"I'll make arrangements,"

The two were silent for a moment before she slapped his knee and got up. "Come on I want to show you something," she said, walking away and he followed.

She led him through the forest until they came to a bend in the river where rock formations created a set of natural pools beneath them. Surrounded by the mountain forest and the waterfall in the distance. Looking down at the flowing water, he saw the moon reflected there as well as some of the surrounding trees.

The natural beauty of the sight dazzled Alex as it was bathed in moonlight. Looking at Joanna, he saw the same look of wonderment that had to be a mirror image of what had to be on his.

"This is my favorite spot on the ranch," she said, before he could ask.

"I can see why," he said, looking back at it and he heard her move beside him.

The next thing he knew he felt her boot on his backside as she kicked him over the edge of the rock. Landing with a loud splash in the water, he swam to the surface and breaking through he looked up at her smiling face.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, and instead of answering, she took a step back and leapt after him.

Shielding himself from the splash, he laughed as she surfaced beside him. "I figured out your problem is its that you focus too much on the deaths that _The Centere_ caused, its time for you to think more on the living people that you've touched, and helped," she said, treading water beside him before she slipped close and he encircled his arms around her as their lips met.

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	7. Reaping The Rewards

The next morning Joanna woke in the shelter, he had belt for them on the edge of the falls. Rolling in the surprising comfortable makeshift mattress, she saw that she was alone again. Climbing out expecting to watch him workout again saw no sign of him.

Frowning she looked around then jumped when she saw him sitting on his knees on the side of the shelter. "Alex you scared…. Alex?' she said, frowning when she saw he was just staring straight ahead breathing slowly.

Moving in front of him, she waved her hands in front of his face murmuring, "Alex… earth to Alex…," but still he didn't move or even notice her.

Frowning she turned to follow his gaze out on the waterfall and potholes and after a few seconds.

"Good morning Joanna,"

She jumped again and scowling looked at his smiling face. "Will you…," she started but was interrupted as he cupped the back of her head and kissed her.

When they broke apart, they laid their foreheads against each other. "Shaolin or Buddhist?" she asked.

"A little of both," he said, standing and stretched.

"Well do you mind telling me why you were… apparently out here all night?" she said.

"Preparing for what is to come," he said, and looking at him understood what he meant.

After getting dressed and rejoining the overnight group set out for the return trip, all the way Alex kept glancing at Robert eyes narrowed. Once they were back at the ranch things moved fast.

After a meeting with the McCoy's, where Damon told them everything about the mine and what he did at the end of which Alex had to stop Adam for pouncing on him and he finally stopped fighting when Damon explained what Robert did to him. From there as arranged, the McCoy's sent Alex and Joanna into town to 'fix one of the rigs'. While Joanna was shadowing Damon's fiancé while he was working on the truck at the shop.

Taking a break and making cup of hot chocolate Alex used the phone. "Hi I'd like to purchase two first class tickets…" he said, sealing a large mela envelope marked for the Denver FBI Branch.

A short while later he was doing some welding on the underbelly of the car when Joanna started to sneak up behind him. "I thought you were keeping close to Emma," he said, suddenly causing her to jump.

"She's here and wanted to surprise Damon with a visit to the ranch, and how'd you know?" she said.

"You still cast a shadow," he said, facing her taking a sip from his mug.

"What is that?" she asked.

Lowering her muttered, "Hot chocolate," and she blinked before shaking her head.

"So what are you doing with that truck?" she asked, walking over laying a hand on it.

Looking at her, he laid his mug down before asking, "What's on your mind? Is it about what's going to happen?"

Shaking her head, she faced him. "No it's something else…," she muttered.

Stepping forward he leaned against the truck. "Is it about that small section I got wrong when I gave you in that demonstration?" he asked, and she looked at him.

After a few seconds, she nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, and she and her smile dropped a little.

"What you pretending to be a shrink now?"

Shaking his head he muttered, "no but I was a mime once," and her eyebrow arched.

"How much do you already know?" she asked.

Clicking his tongue before he answered somberly, "I know that he was your first love, and I know that you held his hand the moment he died," and she nodded whipping a tear away.

"Do you know what my Suix name is?" she asked, and he shook his head truthfully.

"It's Moon Dancer, his was Sky Horse. We were coming back from a birthday party of a friend of ours when it happened. We were hit by a drunk driver seatbelt saved my life saved his to but…," she started before she whipped away a tear and he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Go on…," he muttered.

"When they got to the hospital we were told that he slipped into a comma that he would never wake from. I was there when his parents decided to pull the plug on the machines keeping him alive. I held his hand until the end…," she finished before turning into him and cried into his shoulder.

After a moment he asked, softly, "you were the one driving?" and she nodded.

"It wasn't your fault… I looked up the reports… the guy had a blood alcohol so high I was surprised he could turn the key let alone drive out of the parking lot of the bar he left," he said, and stepping back she whipped more tears away.

"I know but it doesn't help, so what are you doing here?' she said, turning around looking at the truck.

Smiling he patted it. "A little surprise," he said.

Later when Alex drove the three of them back to the ranch, he caught sight of Robert staring at them. "Something wrong man?" he asked, climbing out of the truck.

Shaking his head and acting as if nothing was wrong said, "no just surprised that she's here," he said.

Smiling Alex nodded. "Well let's just hope that Damon is just as surprised. She wanted to for his birthday and she told me that his father and sister are flying in for it," he said.

For a few seconds Robert was silent for a few seconds before Alex asked, 'something wrong?"

Jerking Robert shook his head. "No but the old man wants me to check a few things," he said, walking toward the other rig.

"Here take this one just topped her off," Alex said, tossing him the keys.

"Thanks man," he said, catching the keys and climbing into the rig drove off.

"Wonder why he's so nervous?" Joanna said, aloud.

"Maybe because he knows why Marnie's are called Devil Dogs," Alex said, crossing his arms.

"Ah did I miss something here?" Emma asked.

**MISS PARKER**

With Broots and Sydney in the car, while Sam was in the car behind them they drove though Colorado Springs. "You know I used to watch that show," Broots said, and Parker glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

"You know that one with Jane Seymour, Dr. Quinn," he said, smiling.

"Fascinating," she muttered, and he fell silent.

"You know Debbie was disappointed when I told her you couldn't make it to her birthday party," he said, and she glanced at him again.

Felling a little sorry herself, she looked back at the road. "Well tell her that I'm sorry to but I have plans. But I did mail her my gift and card," she muttered, drawing a few stray hairs back

After a few seconds silence she glanced at Syd who was staring out the window. "What no lecture, or Psych mumbo jumbo," she said, and he glanced at her.

"Sorry wasn't really paying attention," he said, and she blinked.

"Well that a rarity do tell what has your mind so preoccupied," I said, and Broots looked at him.

Smiling he returned his gaze to the window. "I had lunch with Nicolas before we left, I had to ask him something," he said.

"Really and how is he? What was so important?" I asked.

Not looking at me Syd said, "He's great, and I had to ask…," trailing off he looked back at me pulling a small velvet box from his pocket.

"…if it was alright if I asked, his mother to marry me," he said, opening the box showing the ring.

Broots and I were silent as we gaped at the ring. "It was my mother's, we had managed to hide it before it was taken from us," he said, before they could ask and for once Broots was silent.

Looking at him Parker gave him a rare smile. "It's beautiful Sydney, and I'm sure Michelle will love it," she said, and reaching over squeezed his hand.

After a moment Broots asked, "Are we going to sop for the night? Because either way we're not going to get there until tomorrow," and Parker glanced at him in the mirror.

"Or driving all night is fine," he muttered.

**ALEX**

That night taking point on a ridge wearing a radio and deadest Alex laid down on the ground with Damon next to him. "Are sure you don't want me to do this?" he asked, again.

Looking at him Alex nodded. "I don't want you to do something you'll regret," he said, cocking the rifle in front of him breathing deeply and thankful that his mental barriers were holding.

"well I hope you're a good shot here he comes," Damon said, looking through his binoculars.

Sighting through the scope Alex watched the truck drive down the dirt road in the direction of the mine. As he saw Robert at the wheel, he gritted his teeth as he felt the pangs in his head. Taking aim, he fired…

His aim true he watched as the front tire was shot out and with Robert, losing control the truck was flipped onto its side. "Nice shot," Damon muttered, as they watched Robert climb out of the truck.

Turning on the radio Alex cooed, "Robert… oh Robert…," and they watched him whip around to face the truck where his voice was coming from.

"What the heck," they heard him say.

"Tell me Robert what are you feeling more relief or fear?" Alex asked, and then fired another shot at his feet sending Robert taking a few steps back.

"Hey what the hell is this?" he demanded.

"Tell me are you scared is it because you don't know where the next shot will be?" Alex said.

"What they hell are you talking about?" he screamed back up against the truck.

"I'm talking about you finding that diamond deposit in the abandoned silver mine! Then tried to hide it so you could mine the riches from it! In the mean time you tried to scare the McCoy's off their land to give you free rein," he said, as he kept the cross hairs of the scope on Robert as he tried to slip away eyes scanning the area.

"Alex you're crazy!" he snapped.

"Oh that is not a smart thing to say to someone with a sniper rifle!" Alex barked and fired again and the shot skimmed the truck sending sparks fly.

At once Robert leapt back as the ring of gas surrounding him, the truck was ignited, and high dancing flames surrounded him. "But that wasn't enough was it? You had to threaten the family of the only other man who knew about them to force him to help you! _You stripped a good man of his Honor_! _And left a mother crippled and a young boy trapped in his own body!_" Alex growled as Roberts falling to on his ass shuffled back until his back was to the truck as the flames drew closer.

When he said, nothing Alex fired again and Roberts jerked before patting himself down. "If I were you I'd talk or the next round won't be a blank!" Alex barked.

"You're bluffing!"

Smiling Alex muttered, "We played poker together you know I can't bluff,"

"I'd be crazy to have left those diamonds! Everywhere I look; it's always other people getting the break! Well this was mine and I wasn't going to let some doohickey dude ranchers! Or some washed up Jarhead take it from me!

Besides you got nothing on me!" he shouted.

Smiling Alex glanced at the digital video recorder attached to the telephoto scope and the digital voice recorder next to the radio. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, but either way it's time to reap the rewards of your big break," he said, and turned on the laser sight.

At once Robert's eye darted to his chest where the red dot was held stationary. "oh don't worry I'm not going to waste a bullet on you I'll aim…," he muttered, as he adjusted his aim and Robert watched as the laser dot came to rest above his head on the gas tank.

"_…Higher!_" Alex growled finishing.

"No!... No!... NO!" Robert screamed and Alex fired.

Almost at once, a dark liquid poured onto him and he screamed. "Man, boy am I glad you're not that pissed at me," Alex heard Damon say from far away.

Slowly he readjusted his aim again so that the dot was Roberts thrashing chest and his finger started to tighten on the trigger.

"Alex?"

At once, he jerked back releasing the grip. "You ok?" Damon asked, looking at him and Alex nodded.

"Yeah I'm fine though I think you'd better carry this back," he said, standing up picking up the recording equipment.

As they walked back to the other rig. "I gotta say you'd make a great Marine, but I gotta know. Is it cruel and unusual punishment not to tell him that, that's not gas pouring on him but hot chocolate?" he said, and Alex looked at him when they reached the rig.

The two looked at each other for a moment before smiling and both cooing, "Neigh," before climbing in and driving away.

The next morning watching from a distance Alex watched as Robert still covered in hot chocolate was led away by one of Hopkins's deputies to a squad cars with FBI agents over looking it from their sedans. As he was forced in Hopkins came over to the McCoy's who were watching from the porch of the main building.

"And Damon?" he asked.

Adam, Kara, and Old Man McCoy looked at each other. "We talked it over and aren't pressing charges, he was in the same boat as us," she said, looking at him as he stood next to his family.

Nodding Hopkins started to turn.

"Wait!"

Turning back Hopkins watched as Adam walked down the steps toward him. "We still have unfinished business," he said, when he reached him a frown on his face and Hopkins grimaced.

"Head or chest?" Adam simply asked.

After a few seconds Hopkins moaned, "Head," before Adam lashed out nailing him hard in the head knocking him off his feet.

"Now we're done," he said, rubbing his knuckles as Kara laughing slightly gapped at him as he rejoined her and chuckling Alex walked back to his and Joanna's cabin.

He was just packing up when she came in. For a moment, she watched him as he slowly continued to pack his back to her.

"So that's it? You just do what you came here to do then leave?" she said, and zipping up a bag turned to look at her.

"It's the way it has to be," he said.

Trying to keep her face stoic, she nodded. "Well I can certainly say that you've left your mark, and don't worry about the sex I do it often with complete…," she started say as she turned.

Unable to bare it he grabbed her arm and whipped her around to kiss her. Kissing him back through her tears, she held him close.

When they broke apart, he cupped her cheek. "I'm not leaving you behind because I don't love you… I'm leave you behind because I do," he said, simply and he saw her eyes brighten.

"I have some very, _very_ dangerous people after me. And they will not hesitate use you to get to me, and I'll be dammed before I let that happen," he said.

She looked at him for a moment before nodding a tear running down her cheek. Deftly he caught it on his finger and raised it to eye level.

He looked at it for a moment before glancing at her. "In the time I've known you I've come to hate these, please tell me how I can make them stop," he muttered.

She looked at the tear on his finger before looking at him. "Take me with you," she said, simply.

He held her gaze for a second before lowering it then looked back.

**MISS PARKER**

Pulling up to the main building of the Dude Ranch, she climbed out glancing around with Sydney and Broots. "Lovely," she muttered, sarcastically before walking up the steps.

**ALEX**

With his latest journal up in the cabin and my bag over his shoulder, Alex leaned against the corral looking out at the beauty of the land. As a breeze wafted over his face, he closed his eyes breathing deeply. As one of the horses came, close and he started to stroke him and suddenly the horse's ears flattened and he heard footsteps behind me.

Alex frowned at this then froze at the sound a gun cocking behind me as it was pressed against the back of his head. "Raise your hands and slowly turn," a female voice said.

Sighing in annoyance, he raised my hands. "What did Lyle quite already? If that's the case I should have cavity searches done on you people by SP more often," he said.

There was silence for second then. "Turn around!" the voice snapped.

Rolling his eyes, he slowly turned. Before me stood a good-looking woman with longish dark brown hair in a designer suit. Beside her was bulky Sweeper who also had a gun trained on him while what looked like a bald computer analyst stood in the background while an older man whose face he couldn't see came down the path.

The woman and Alex looked at each other for a moment before she snapped, "Who the hell are you?"

Frowning he muttered, "I could ask the same about you, but you do look familiar have we…," he started before he was interrupted by a shocked voice.

"Alex!"

Looking up his jaw dropped open and my hands dropped when he saw the face of the old man. "Sydney…," he muttered.

At that, the woman looked at the man. "Syd you know…," she started but was silenced as Alex sprang into action.

Grabbing her gun hand Alex locked her arm up and spinning the both of us around blocked the Sweeper's shot as he called out. Facing him his finger over her trigger finger the gun went off and he fell clutching his leg where the bullet had hit. Then after delivering elbow to her face, he flipped her onto her back and rolling aroound she sat up her own gun in her face.

"Don't even think about it!" Alex snapped at her.

As Alex held the gun on her, I felt the old pain begin to rise and he started to hear Raines's voice saying 'Shoot her'. "No…," he moaned out keeping the gun steady as his finger shook.

'Shoot her now'

"No…!"

'Do it Alex!'

"NO!" Alex screamed and in a flash of movement jerked the gun away, ejected the magazine, and slid the slide from the main body.

The rest watched as Alex dropped to his knees clutching his head. Taking the opportunity Miss Parker started to slowly reach back for Sam's gun. Suddenly a shot rang out and looking around saw Adam on the path above holding a rifle on her.

"Don't you move!" he snapped cocking the rifle again and Alex looked up as more Sweepers appeared.

"What are you going to do now?" Parker asked, as the Sweepers started to draw their guns.

"Even the odds,"

Whipping around again, she saw Kara hold a double barrel rifle on two Sweepers while Old Man McCoy and Damon held pistols on the others. "What are you…?" Alex started getting to his feet before Kara interrupted.

"It's the least we could do now get on Zorro and git! We'll settle up later!" she snapped.

He looked at her for a second before grabbing his bag over his shoulder and his DSA case before leaping on the horse. Turning it take one more look at Sydney he faced the valley rode out at a full gallop Miss Parker's eyes boring into him the whole way.

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	8. The Race Is On

Miss Parker sat in a chair at the hospital out outside of Sam's room her elbows resting on her knees as the events of what happened at the ranch flashed through her mind. Glancing up at the sound of footsteps, she watched Sam's doctor wearing glasses with a goatee a chart in hand walked into the room. After frowning for a second at that, she turned at the sound of her name.

"Tea Miss Parker," Sydney said, offering the paper cup.

Turning hard eyes on him, she took the cup and he sat down next to her. "You two knew each other," I said, an edge to her voice and he looked at her.

"_Who is Alex_," I growled.

He frowned at that. "Don't you know?" he asked.

My eyebrow arched up. "Should I?" she demanded.

Before he could answer, she looked at a commotion around the corner. Climbing to her feet and following the sounds of arguing she turned the corner. And moaned at the sight of Lyle.

Catching sight of her his eyes widened. "What are you doing here?" he snapped.

Stalking over she muttered, in a low dangerous voice, "_I could ask you the same thing but then…_," before seizing him by his jacket and shoving him against the wall.

"_But then the answer put a bullet in Sam's leg!_" she growled, in the same voice.

He looked at her for a few seconds then started to open his mouth. "_Why wasn't I told The Centre was trying to catch another escaped Pretender_!" she interrupted before he could say anything.

His face acquiring that wise guy grin of his. "Well big sis, it was need to know, orders from the tower and judgeing from what I heard of what happened it was for good reason," he said, her grip tightened, and her face grew harder.

**_Meanwhile…_**

Groaning Sam turned in his bed and saw the doctor inject something into his IV. "Now don't you worry there lad. This is just a little something to help you sleep and take away the pain," the doctor said, in his heavily accented voice.

"Thanks doc this one was starting to wear off," Sam said.

Nodding the doctor faced him and slipped his glasses off faced him. "Yes I guessed as much but before I go and you go back to sleep there's something I need to say to you," the doc said, facing him before he reached up and Alex peeled away the mustache.

At once Sam grabbed the nurse call button as Alex replaced the mustache. "Try all you want its temporally disconnected and it won't be reconnected until I leave, but before I go. I want to say I'm sorry for shooting you," he said, and looking at him the drugs took effect and Sam slipped back into an unconscious state.

Picking up his chart Alex walked out of the room and down the hall. Stopping at a sound, he looked down the hall and saw Lyle arguing with the woman from before at the ranch. Narrowing his eyes, he adjusted his glasses before continuing and half away down the hall he bumped into the doctor he was pretending to be.

Turning the doctor looked at him a look of surprise and wonder on his face as the man turned to watch Alex turn into a bathroom and out of sight. In the bathroom, Alex stripped the false goatee, clothes, and wig and tossed them in the trash before reaching up and pushing the air vent open grabbed his bags. After putting on his clothes he rubbed his fingers on the mirror, he slipped on his jacket, and slipped the glasses into the inside pocket and stepped out.

Walking down the hall his duffle over his shoulder he stopped outside an elevator and after pressing the call button climbed in when the doors opened. Coming to a room in ICU where Johanna a bag at her feet was waiting outside a room looking in on the McCoy family with the exception of Kara seated around James's bed. Turning Johanna looked at him as he approached she smiled.

"Did you do what you had to do?" she asked, and he nodded.

Turning at a sound they both watched as Kara wheeled toward them stopping when she got close. "I want to thank you for all you've done for us, and now with what Damon and… that bastard found in the mine. Our family is secure," she said.

Nodding Alex squatted down to look her in the eye. "It's only a small geode, but if you follow my instructions your family is set for generations," he said, and she whipped a tear away.

Taking his hand she muttered, "I know that you're not State Police, but that doesn't matter, you gave me and my families our lives back like it was candy in your pocket. We could never repay you," she said, and he held her hand in both of his.

"Just keep living and loving and that's enough for me," he said, emotion lacing his voice.

Smiling and whipping a tear away she looked from Johanna to him. "You take good care of her or so help me I'll be after you," she warned.

Chuckling he muttered, "now I know I'm in trouble but for right now they're some people waiting for you," and motioned toward the room.

Nodding she started wheeling toward the door then stopped. After locking, the wheels in place Johanna started to step forward but Alex raised a hand to stop her. The two watched as Kara started to push to her feet and hold onto the chair for balance before slowly letting go.

On shaky legs, she walked into the room with her family watching. From outside Alex and Johanna watched as she took a seat next to her son and took his hand and murmured, to him. Just as Alex reached out to take Johanna's shoulder to go it happened.

The hand Kara had taken stirred and slowly James opened his eyes. With cries of joy the McCoy's called, for a doctor who rushed in.

"We gotta go, Moon Dancer," he said, and looking at him a look of pure joy and wonderment Johanna nodded.

The two walked down and back into the elevator and once going down in it Alex looked at her. "You know you can still walk away and I'd understand. Because once you cross this line they'll be after you to, and they'll be no going back," he said, worried for her.

Slowly she looked at him. "Alex you say that to me one more I'll turn you in myself," she said.

Chuckling he nodded as the doors opened and they walked out heading for the exit. "So were to now? Some exotic paradise? Someone else to help?" she asked, looking at him as they stepped outside heading for his mustang parked there.

After putting their things in the back, he shook his head looking at her. "Not just yet, there's something I need to do," he said, climbing in and they both drove off.

**_Meanwhile…_**

Turning from a continuing arguing Lyle, Parker frowned as Sam's doctor come down the hall again. "Hey you!" she barked stalking down the hall and the doctor turned to look at her.

When she reached him, she pointed at Sam's room. "Weren't you just in there?" she asked.

At that, the doctor frowned pointing where he came from. "If you're talking 'bout the look alike I saw go into the lew a short while ago…," he said, and at once, she darted down the hall into the bathroom Lyle in close pursuit.

After finding the disguise in the trash, they checked the empty stalls and Lyle gave a frustrated growl. "He is a ballsy bastard I'll give him that," he said, then turned to Miss Parker who was frowning at the mirrors.

"Wha…?" he started to ask but stopped as she left the room a few seconds later he heard a cry of outrage before she returned hairspray in hand.

"What are you…?" he started to ask again but stopped as she started spraying the mirrors and words appeared.

**ALEX WAS HERE, BETTER LATE THEN NEVER LYLE**

"Ballsy but he's got style," Miss Parker murmured, with a grin.

**_Hours later…_**

With a sigh of content, Sydney opened the door to his home. "Michelle! Nicolas!" he called, out but no one answered.

Frowning he hung his coat up before turning to put his keys on the table pausing seeing the note there he picked it up and smiled as he read.

Dad,

Mom and me went to pick up some things we'll be back later, love Nicolas.

Laying the note down he smiled before looking up at the first family photo of the three of them. Taking it down from its place of honor on the wall, he walked into the living room to look at it from his favorite armchair switching on a light. It was taken shortly Jarod had saved Nicolas from the Militia Group before he had left they had the picture taken.

The sound of his phone ringing jarred him from his thoughts and after laying the picture on the coffee table answered it. "This is Sydney," he said.

"Hello Sydney,"

At once, he sat up straight in the chair. "Alex?" he muttered.

"Don't try to trace this Sydney I have it bouncing off a dozen satellites both private and military and across four continents, so it's a pretty expensive call," Alex said.

"I'm not tracing this Alex I swear," Sydney said.

"That's good because it's going on Lyle's phone bill," Alex said, and Sydney chuckled as he climbed to his feet and turned to look out the window.

"Alex where are you?" he asked.

For a few seconds there was silence then Alex stepped out of the shadows behind Sydney and closing his cell he muttered, "Right behind you," and Sydney whipped around.

The two looked at each other before they both smiled and embraced each other. "Let me look at you," Sydney said, stepping back as he held Alex's face between his palms.

"You look like I thought you might," he muttered, and Alex chuckled.

"And you look like I knew you would," Alex said, taking Sydney by his wrists.

For a few seconds the two just looked at each other. "They told me you were dead," Sydney said.

Closing his eyes Alex nodded even though he was expecting it, it still hurt. "They said, the same about you, but Sydney I don't have a lot of time. I came for answers," he said.

Sydney nodded understanding. "Just tell me one thing, who was put in charge of you after me?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Alex was silent for a moment before closing his eyes and lowering his head. "Oh God, please no," Sydney moaned.

Looking back at him Alex remained silent. "… please tell me it wasn't Reins, don't tell me you were one of his projects," he muttered, and Alex remained silent.

Face-hardening Sydney growled, "I'll kill him, for what he did to you," and Alex put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Reins will get his comeuppance, but I need to know two things. One who was that woman at the ranch?" he said, and again Sydney frowned.

"You don't know?" he asked.

Alex shook his head. "Should I?" he asked, and Sydney's frown deepened turning he returned to his chair.

He motioned for Alex to take a seat. "Her name is Marian Parker, though everyone calls her Miss Parker, she's the daughter of Catharine Parker. I'd go into details but like you said, you don't have much time," he said, as Alex joined him.

Silently Alex took it in before looking at him again making a note to hack The Centre mainframe again for more information. "Now who was it you were really chasing? Because I know it wasn't me," he asked, after a moment.

Sydney was silent. "It was Jarod isn't? He's alive too isn't he?" Alex asked, in a somber voice and Sydney looked at him.

Looking away, Alex nodded. "I have to go," he said, standing and starting toward the door.

Climbing to his feet Sydney followed. "Alex where going? What are you going to do?" he asked, as Alex opened the door.

Pausing Alex slowly looked at him. "What do you think I'm going to do Sydney? I'm going to beat you to him, I'm going to find my brother," he said, before he disappeared through the door and into the night.

**_Meanwhile…_**

Unlocking the door to her home Miss Parker rubbed the back of her neck to get the tension out of it. After unclipping the holster of her 9mm laid it on the table then paused at a flickering light coming from under the sliding doors to the dining room. After unclasping it she silently drew her weapon and holding it before her silently moved to the doors before throwing them open.

Before her was her table was set with a candle lit dinner. Eyes scanning the room she whipped around at a sound pointing the gun at the man behind her. At once, the gun was pushed aside, a pair of arms encircled her, and her lips met his.

When their lips finally broke apart her eyes were closed in pleasure as she hissed, "_I hate it when you do that to me_," and the shadowy figure cocked its head.

"Why?" he asked, stepping from the shadows showing a grin on his face.

"Because you know I'll do anything for more," she said, before she grabbed Jarod and pulled him in for another kiss.

An hour later dressed in only Jarod's shirt while he wore a pair of pajama pants Miss Parker walked out of the dining room a flute glass in each of her hands.

She smiled as she joined him on the floor in front of the fireplace after handing him his flute glass of champagne. "Did you see Ben when you were in Maine?" he asked, taking it and she sat down next to him.

Nodding she leaned against him. "Yeah it was great to take the time off to see him. How is Ethan?" she said.

"He's good and he misses you," Jarod taking a sip from his glass and glanced over at the untouched food.

"We'd better eat soon I went through a lot of trouble to make that," he said, starting to get up and she tightened her grip on him.

"Not yet, just a little longer," she muttered, and smiling he settled back down glancing at her cigarette case which had fallen from her blouse.

"I thought you quit?" he asked, and she glanced over.

"I did," she said, reaching over and opening the case showed him they were electric cigarettes.

"But I have to keep up appearances," she muttered, and he smiled.

"By the way Debbie wanted to know if you'll make it to her birthday. After the magic show you did last year I'm not surprised," she said, as she retook her position against him.

Smiling he nodded. "Well I can't this year but I sent her a gift, are you going?" he asked.

Shaking her head she muttered, "No I have plans for me plus one to spend a week alone at a private secluded cabin in the woods," and he looked at her.

"but I did send her a gift with note saying that when we get back she and I are spending the day together doing what she wants on me," she said, and Jarod held her close.

"Under all that toughness you're just a big softy," he muttered.

"Don't tell anyone or I'll put a bullet in your knee," she warned and she fell silent as he laughed looking at her gun.

"Do you ever get tired of pointing that gun at me? I am," he said, as she leaned against him.

"Well that's what you get when you break into my home Jarod," she said then grew somber.

"What is it?" he asked.

Looking at him she muttered, "They decided that since they reassigned Lyle I needed another edge to find you. So they decided to train my Pretender skills, and start doing simulations,"

For a few seconds he just looked at her then pulled her in close as she just stared in the distance. "It's ok, it's ok," she said, soothingly to her.

"I never understood why you've been doing what you do, now I do, I can't help but feel the blood on my hands," she muttered.

For a few seconds they remained that way until he asked, "Is there something else?"

Sitting straight, she looked into the fire arms wrapped around her knees. "Do you ever feel like we're betraying them…, Tommy…, and Zoë…?" she asked.

Jarod was silent for a moment before he sat up next to her. "I think they would want us to be happy. Marian when Zoë…, died after her cancer relapsed…, I felt as lost as you did when Tommy died…, then you…, well..., caught me in Dallas. I was practically ready for you just to shot me as you held your gun on me then you just grabbed me and kissed me.

I felt a reason to live again. Then you ruined the moment by telling me to tie you up to make it look good," he said, and she chuckled remembering.

"You did it so good they had to cut me loose, but I guess I had it coming," she said, smiling at the memory.

She smiled as he first ran his fingers through then wound her hair around one finger. "I missed you in New York. Where were you? I thought I left enough bread crumbs," he said.

Looking back at the flames, she thought back to what happened. "We were sidetracked to Colorado," she muttered, and he frowned.

"The Centere is chasing another Pretender and we picked up the wrong lead," finished standing and he watched her.

"Who?" he asked frowning in surprise.

Looking at him she muttered, "Sydney said, his name was Alex…," and Jarod eyes going wide interrupted her leaping to his feet.

"ALEX! That sociopath!" he snapped and she silenced him with a shake of her head.

"No this guy was different…," she said, and she quickly told him everything.

"…the look on his face when he held my gun on me…, Jarod I've never seen such pain…, it was like he was being tortured…," she said, then paused when she saw the look on his face and he slowly looked into the fire.

After a few seconds he muttered, "It can't be," he muttered, then before she could stop him he left her alone in the room, and she followed him into the dining room.

There he pulled out his DSA player and after selecting the right disk set it to play.

**JAROD**

**09/01/80**

**FOR CENTERE USE ONLY**

On the screen they watched Sydney face the camera. "This morning I was informed by the director of a new perimeter of the Pretender project. For the time being Jarod will being working with a new Pretender," he said, before facing a twenty something year old Jarod.

"Jarod there's someone I want you to meet," he said, motioning for him to come closer before they both turned as a door was opened and a sweeper led a small wide eyed boy in.

They watched when the boy got close Jarod squatted down to look him in the eye. "Hello, I'm Jarod," Jarod said.

At that, the boy gave him a small smile. "I'm Alex," he said.

Joining Jarod, a smiling Sydney said, "and I'm Sydney me and Jarod will be taking care of you for a while," placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and Jarod stopped the DSA.

"Was that him?" he asked.

Mouth slightly open Miss Parker nodded. "A much younger version but that's him, what happened to him," she muttered.

Interlocking his fingers Jarod muttered, "Until tonight I thought he was dead, but now I've got to find him before The Centere does," he said.

**_Back at Sydney's…_**

From the shadows, Alex and Johanna watched Nicolas and Michelle return home and Sydney come out to greet them. "I never knew he had a son," Alex muttered, and Johanna looked at him.

"Does it surprise you?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Not really he's a good man. And from the looks of it a good father," he said, as the three went inside.

For a few seconds they were still then turning the key Alex started the car. "Where to now?" Johanna asked.

"Well I was thinking about taking a dive," he said, and she looked puzzled.

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	9. The Beast

**_A Few Days Later..._**

His gear clinking Alex stood up in the plane slipping on his helmet and locking in the face cage as the back of plane opened. "What a good day to be jumping out of a perfectly good air plane!" the Chief said, as he came forward looking down at the smoking forest.

"Must be quite a change from your last post?" the chief asked, and Alex nodded.

Looking at him, he took in the man's hard tough face and hint of a war wound on the side of his neck. "You have no idea," he said, then with a cry jumped from the plane.

The wind roared around him as Alex fell his fire suit whipping in the wind. Spreading his arms wide he controlled his decent keeping close to the others. As one, they opened the chutes and continued down toward the road where they clearly saw people trapped by the forest fire.

After landing with a few steps, he quickly shrugged off his suit and parachute assessing the situation slipping on a ball cap his Polanski and chainsaw at his hips. "Deek! Cowgirl! Cut us a break! Bowie get those people away from their cars!" the chief barked, when he landed gesturing.

At once, Alex and others moved to put his orders into motion. "Your cars are filled with gasoline they will explode! Move away from them and into the ditch!" Alex barked, at the people and they quickly did as they were told.

Once they were safe as could be the chief was at my side as we looked into the fire full engaged and covering several trees. "It's gaining ground!" he shouted, and Alex nodded already covered in sweat from the heat.

At a cry, Alex turned and stopped a man and woman from charging into the blazing forest. "…MY LITTLE GIRL! DON'T LET HER DIE SHE'S IN THE HOUSE!" the woman screamed, as he held her back.

"WHERE'S THE HOUSE?" he barked, at her over the roar of the fire.

"RIGHT THERE!" she screamed, pointing.

"COWGIRL!" the Chief barked, gesturing and she quickly came over pulling the woman away while Alex turned and looking through the fire saw the cabin with a six year old look through a window.

"DAME IT WE'RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE WALL! WE CAN'T GET TO HER!" the chief said, then moved off barking orders for a dump plane.

After looking after him, Alex looked back at the cabin then at a tree that wasn't engulfed. After a quick calculation, he darted over and whipping out the chain saw began to cut into the tree. A second later, it fell across the wall of flame and with the chief calling after him; he darted across his makeshift bridge.

Once on the other side he ran full out for the cabin. A sound drew his eyes up and widen when he saw a tree with dancing flames covering it start to fall towards the cabin but was halted by two more. After using his Polanski to break down the door, he darted inside.

"SWEET HEART COME ON OUT YOUR MOM SENT ME TO GET YOU!" he called out as he started to search the bottom rooms.

"COME ON HONEY COME ON OUT I'M A FIREFIGHTER AND ITS NOT SAFE!" he called out again after lifting up the beds.

He before he climbed the ladder to the second floor he glanced out the window on the tree. As he did, it dropped another inch and as his eyes swiveled down, he froze then dived for the floor as the gas tank on the boat exploded covering him with glass from the windows. Pushing himself up the glass shifting to the floor, he paused his eyes on a cupboard by the fireplace.

Darting forward he opened it and there was the girl holding her kitten. Without a word, he took her in his arms and ran from the cabin just as the tree came down cutting the cabin in two. Skidding to a stop the girl crying in his arms he saw his break closed and looking back saw they were surrounded my fire.

On the other side, the chief was on the radio. "Big dipper this is smoke jump 1 we're on the service road! I need a double hit from you one at my location the other a cabin a quarter mile east!" he barked, into it.

"Smoke jump one we only have half a load it has to be one or the other!" the pilot said, back to him as he started to hear the roar of the plane over the fire.

At that, the chief paused turning on the spot looking at the people then at the spot where Alex had disappeared. "Cabin or road Smoke Jump 1! Which is it!" the Pilot snapped, as he remained silent.

Facing hardening, he raised the mike. "HIT THE ROAD!" he ordered.

A few seconds later the plane flew over them dumping its load and everyone was covered in the red liquid. Around them fire started to die as steam and smoke rose up into the air. When it was over one by one, the people and jumper looked up and looked in the direction of the cabin.

The smoke and steam covered it from their sight as they stared hopefully. Then slowly it began to fall showing the ruined remains and the mother began to scream in agony falling to her knees her husband holding her. Then out of the last wisp of smoke walked, Alex the girl in his arms who turned to face her mother hair matted from the liquid.

At once, the mother crying out ran to him and took her daughter in her arms. "Oh thank you! Thank you!" she said, as she held the girl tight to her before moving away.

Nodding after her Alex bent over to catch his breath as the chief came over. "That was some work. Best I've seen in my twenty years in the job fighting that beast," he said.

Standing straight Alex nodded. "Well it beats smoke house fish," he said, and the chief laughed.

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